


Blind Art

by ninecupcakes



Series: Blind Art [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Aftertale, Alternate Universe - Dreamtale, Alternate Universe - Errortale, Alternate Universe - Inktale, Alternate Universe - Storyshift, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underfresh, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Depression, No shippings, Panic Attacks, Torture, Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-10-20 17:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 64,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10666974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninecupcakes/pseuds/ninecupcakes
Summary: When Ink makes the mistake of resorting to a fight he was unprepared for, his life gets thrown down the drain.With an angered Error on the look for them and Ink's worrying depression, Dream is thrown into a mess he doesn't know how to solve.All he knows is that he has to get the real Ink back.





	1. Soulless

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the written retelling of my other sister's AU, a different take on Ink!Sans, known as Anti Ink. We all know he's soulless, but what if he lost his soul in a much different, life changing way?
> 
> Remember that this is in no way canon and is just an AU of an AU. Anti has a page in the Undertale AU wiki, go ahead and read this if you want to know his character before reading the full story: http://undertale-au.wikia.com/wiki/Anti_Ink

" **you just don't know when to give up, do you?"**

Ink was once again hurled against the invisible floor of never ending white, the fall winding him as he screamed and clutched his newly snapped ulna.

Remaining eye clenched shut, he tried his best to ignore the gnawing pain that erupted over his forearm before he allowed his eye socket to flutter open.

His vision was blurry, but among the haze of black he saw the strings retreat into nothing and a malicious grin staring down at him in victory.

He coughed when his cracked ribs prevented him from breathing properly. For a terrifying moment, he thought he had been suddenly rendered unable to breathe at all.

His eye opened again only to reveal Error's fuzzy figure circling him, a malevolent chuckle breaking itself apart filling the generally silent atmosphere.

**"had enough yet?"**

He could no longer take it. He couldn't take the pain. Every single part of him ached viciously, felt limp. The cloud of black that threatened to envelop his blurred vision was becoming larger each second that ticked by at a tedious rate.

He had been doing so good. He wouldn't have believed it if anyone told him that he would be that lost without his paintbrush, but the truth brutally made itself known to him.

With only multicolored sparkles floating down like glimmering sand left of his beloved tool and weapon, he had tried to retreat before Error unleashed torturous wrath upon him.

Ink hadn't thought he would ever be afraid of Error. Afraid of what he could do, yes; but not afraid of the glitch himself. Not until he remained merciless despite his agonised pleads as he attempted desperately to get away from the raging strings.

To think he was at his mercy was terrifying.

He was shaking like a leaf, breathing heavy and stifled, and unable to move. How many times had those bones tried to crack his skull? How many times had those blasters tried to blow him out of existence? How many times had those strings tried to break him apart?

It all hurt too much.

He heard the padding of Error's footsteps moving closer, a heartless chuckle accompanying them. He didn't hear the ghostly creaks of the lethal threads, but his fear increased either way.

"P-please..." his weak voice cracked, eye shut tight fearing more pain to come. "S... s-t-top..."

The footsteps stopped, worryingly close to him. Ink didn't bother opening his eye. He didn't want to watch, and for a second, he wished his other eye had been cracked too just so that he wouldn't have to see himself die.

**"i'll take that as a yes."** Error chuckled pitilessly, watching his finally downed enemy tremble in heartfelt terror and beg for mercy with sadistic contentment.

Ink flinched when he heard the strings being summoned, but let his eye open when a strange light greeted the darkness he brought upon himself.

He had little time to regard his soul revealing itself before a horde of threads took over it with a burst of scalding pain lodging itself into his chest.

He was lifted pitilessly a couple of feet above the whiteness of the floor, feeling like he was being strangled. He lost control over his body, and only his scathed head responded to him.

**"thanks for making this easy, pal. i honestly love to have you filthy little things handed over. saves me a lot of universe hopping."**

Ink barely acknowledged him. He wouldn't have expected having his soul bound by magic would be so excruciatingly painful; it felt like a volcano was erupting in his ribcage and the burning lava was slowly moving over to the rest of his body.

He didn't know if he couldn't move because his restrained soul prevented any movement, or because he was in so much agony that his limbs froze and refused to cooperate.

**"really, what did you think was going to happen? did you really think you'd win?** _**save the joke."**_   The bicolor phalanges curled, sending the strings taut. Ink wheezed when the pain increased to an unbearable point.

A crack made its path through the middle of the gradient heart; thin, not large enough to split the soul, but a crack nevertheless.

"...Error, please... d-don't..."

His voice came in a choked whisper, and the grinning skeleton only let his smile widen at the other's suffering.

**"hey, didn't you want mercy? killing you seems like a pretty good deed right now. heh heh heh heh."**

He was defenseless. He was trapped. He was in pain.

But Ink didn't want to die. Not after everything he had done for those whom he cared for. Not while everyone was counting on him to keep the balance of the multiverse.

He could not fail everyone... He had vowed to protect them all. He had risked his own life to protect so many innocent ones.

...he couldn't die...

The threads kept on tightening, the overpowering pain rising like a vivid fire. **"let's get this over with now."**

Ink didn't even have enough strength to try and set himself free. He could do nothing but watch as his soul cracked further, everything becoming black.

_**"goodnight, you little glitch."** _

The strings were violently pulled back. The fading pupil within Ink's eye socket contracted to a mere, minuscule dot as multicolored shards flew past him, their color draining into a lifeless grey.

He wheezed when he could no longer breathe as he toppled down onto his side, trying desperately to catch his lost breath.

Error only kept grinning. Ink's choked breathing eventually stopped as the world around him seemed to lose its color and decelerate.

He had one last look at the merciless grin of gold before everything became black.

* * *

Something was telling him he couldn't die.

Something was telling him it hadn't ended.

Something was keeping the warmth of life close to him.

He saw his literal life shatter into a million pieces right in front of him, yet he knew he was breathing.

He couldn't feel anything, but he knew he wasn't dead. Or perhaps he was? Death felt strikingly similar to waking up from a nightmare, then.

He began to realize he was lying on his side. He could feel the cold of that invisible floor beneath him.

Eventually, he felt he could move his phalanges, then his hand, then his entire arm. His right one, of course; the other one felt completely limp.

His eye stirred, and fluttered open; he was slightly shocked when the right one showed him nothing but darkness before remembering that a large crack ran it down.

With white everywhere, he only knew his sight was still blurred when he glanced at himself, but a few dazed blinks recovered his sense of detail.

He managed to push himself up to a sitting position with a trembling arm once he felt his own body enough to truly attempt to move.

A hand was brought to his head, viciously attacked by a relentless ache. He felt those cracks along it.

He looked around him.

There was nothing, and Error was out of sight.

He sighed shakily, observing the situation. Had the fight truly happened? He was confused. He had watched himself die, hadn't he?

Truth was, he felt empty. Something was not right. He didn't feel like himself. He felt like there was something missing...

He just questioned why he was alive. The memory was fuzzy, but he knew his soul had been destroyed. Why was he awake? Why was he still there? Why hadn't he turned to dust?

He managed to stand up on wobbling feet, hand clutching his pained arm as he had yet another look around him.

Nothing. The white was sickening.

He took a couple of weak steps back. He couldn't stay there. Error would come back.

He was still alive. He wasn't dreaming. If Error found out he hadn't managed to kill him... the pain would return. The unceasing pain would come back. He would hurt him more.

He rushed through a portal of swirling colors in a wave of panic.

The gap, much less stunning than Ink remembered it to be, closed dully as he fell to his knees. Papers flew around him with the short breeze the portal caused upon disappearing.

He was safe. He was back home. Nobody could enter his universe without his saying. Error would never find him there...

...why was he alive again?


	2. Blurred Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh my- what happened to you?" he nearly screamed, rushing over before the vials glowed an almost blinding white, right at the edge of summoning the harmful attack.
> 
> "I said get away from me!" Ink shouted, eye taking on the shape of a glowing lightning bolt.

Determination.

It had been due to Determination.

He couldn't remember when exactly he found out, but it had definitely been a long time ago that he came to that conclusion.

He was sure of it, but he never figured out _why_ such thing hadhappened. He did know that he was still confused about it, though. His memory and knowledge were both blurred, but he was sure Determination was a soul trait.

And he lacked a soul.

Perhaps it was because the multiverse needed him? Because it simply couldn't let he, who had maintained and protected everything for so long, go? That had been his last theory before giving up on the subject.

Before giving up on everything.

His magic was unresponsive. Not only did he not have his paintbrush, what gave him his powers in the first place, he just lacked any strength to do anything he had been capable of doing before.

He couldn't draw properly. He didn't know what to sketch or why he was doing so, and the amount of senseless scribbles around him was worrisome; any other day, he would have screamed his nonexistent lungs out at such a mess. It was a painful case of art block.

His paintings still came to life, but much to his dismay, they vanished into thin air within the span of a few minutes. Had they always done that? Ink couldn't remember if they were supposed to last forever or not.

He remembered the day the color in his paint vials left along with his hopes, leaving him nothing but a belt of blacks, whites and greys, all lifeless colors in contrast to his jovial attitude that had vanished, too.

He had felt even weaker after that.

He, too, remembered the day he realized his battered body could barely keep itself together. He began to dematerialize, fade away; it went on for what seemed like hours before he was back to normal, dazed and confused as to what had happened. He was afraid that he would just disappear one day.

The crack blinding his right eye became a fountain of leaking ink as the horrifying moment occurred, and he had felt his remaining strength drain further as time went by.

It never stopped happening since then. Every day, it would happen once or twice, or thrice if luck decided to leave his side.

He was broken.

He didn't see the point in anything anymore.

He had isolated himself from everything he had ever known. Back when he was happy, there wouldn't be a single day in which he wouldn't have the brilliant idea of pranking whoever he came across or decorated the universes' landscapes.

He could no longer have that.

He did not want Error to find him again. Ink's timeline was heavily secluded, much like the Omega Timeline, but he knew that glitch would eventually find his way in if he knew he had survived. Especially if he decided he would be hellbent in finishing him off; Error wasn't a fan of leaving his job half done.

Ink wasn't defenseless if such thing was to happen, but he refused to risk it that early.

He found out the hard way that he still had some magic left; harmful magic at that, much to his surprise. His paint vials could produce spirals of acidic ink in the air with enough concentration, shooting corrosive projectiles in whichever direction the creator wished.

Black acid was still present all too near the door-portal that led to the beautiful world of Outertale, the aftermath of a fit of rage he had uselessly fought against.

He was staring at it with a half closed eye. He couldn't see it, and hadn't noticed thus far, but his pupil no longer changed into whatever shape it could find after every blink. It was a cyan teardrop. A representation of how he constantly felt.

He was sitting down on top of a small hill made out of sketchy grass waving with every existing shade of green. Ink could remember, albeit barely, that it was one of the first things he drew for his timeline. He wished he could go back in time... he did not want to spend the rest of his life fearing he would eventually break apart.

He held his broken arm close to his side. A snapped ulna, no matter how painful and generally annoying, wasn't a big deal for skeletons, not even Sanses despite their reduced stats. They were easy to fix. Those with thriving magic only needed a split second to heal it right then and there; others simply had to wait for their magic to fix the damage.

Ink lacked that magic. The only healing done to his forearm ever since the fight had been the comfortable feeling of the gnawing pain being gone, and it only came back when he tried to move it. His phalanges hurt at the motion of curling them, and he couldn't rotate his forearm.

It was a good thing that he was ambidextrous, but it felt out of place for him to work with a single arm. Drawing became tedious.

His skull and ribs hadn't healed either. His blinded eye didn't hurt at all, but his ribs made breathing an everyday fight. He had grown used to it, though, but only because he knew there was no going back.

He had to deal with what he had.

He averted his gaze from the starry door all the way down the hill with a tired blink. It was becoming a challenge for him to even look at all those floating doors and portals. Each of them held the many lives he had disappointed and endangered.

Whenever he glanced at them, he felt eyes piercing into him, telling him he had failed them.

And he had to agree with them. It didn't matter how many beings capable of defending themselves there were. _He_ was the one given the responsibility of protecting the multiverse from harm.

And he had failed by doing what he had considered to be the best choice.

He thought he knew Error enough. He had trusted blindly in his skills, even if he wasn't truly meant to be a fighter. After all, he was never one to kill people, and the multiverse wasn't prepared for something like Error.

He should have known better. He simply couldn't trust himself. He no longer knew if he had been doing the right thing all along, he didn't even know what he was truly supposed to do. He didn't know if he was a hero, or a complete failure.

He had to be prepared for anything that dared harm the multiverse... but he couldn't even fight back without his paintbrush; forever gone. Why would someone unable to summon magic by himself be worthy of being deemed a guardian? 

Was he really useful? He couldn't even continue on expanding universes and ridding them of any evil that disrupted them.

He told himself he was nothing...

...at least, he did until that one day.

* * *

He sat against a medium sized origami tree; he did remember it was his favorite thing in his own little universe. It was full of different drawings of all style, sizes, shapes. Mosaics here, gradients there, sketches of boredom all over. He would constantly awe at it like a little child...

He didn't feel like adding more to the collection of happy memories that failed to make him smile. He just couldn't look at it and feel pride. It was just... there. A tree made out of paper with waving multicolored sheets as leaves.

He barely acknowledged the fact that it was downright unnatural to see his often cheerful and feisty expression so monotonous and dull as he sighed.

He had drawn one of those little birds he tended to create whenever he felt like he had nothing to do. Through fuzzy memories, he saw them as joyous birds that left trails of sparkles behind them as they sang and chased him. Those were fun times, but he didn't feel like running around.

The one he made was a canary-shaped bird of a single color, a dry yellow, cuddling over his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. It couldn't even fly, it merely hopped around like a little frog with wings.

To say he was not feeling better with the understanding piece of paper right next to him was a lie, but he didn't want to let the warm feeling of the type of company he needed sink in too much. He knew it would soon disappear.

And so it did, in a puff of glimmering golden dust that soon faded from sight.

Those had been some nice five minutes...

Moments like that were all the happiness he had left. There was nothing left that would make him smile, not even a crooked grin. There were moments that took whatever little smile he had away, though.

Such as a strange buzzing noise in the distance he could only perceive as a portal.

Ink hastily stood up, eye changing into a circle of faded red. Instead of choosing whatever random shape was available, his pupil only changed along with his mood; he hadn't yet noticed. 

A circle only ever disrupted the teardrop when his mind whirled in panic.

Ink wasn't one to trust his treacherous memory, that had been failing him ever further than it already did ever since he came to life, but he was sure nobody could locate his timeline. Something told him that wasn't the full truth, but he didn't know which side to trust.

He only knew that he didn't want anyone there.

...much less if it so happened to be Error.

It was a portal, after all, and he didn't think of any other being capable of opening one. His paint vials slowly began to glow white, readying the corrosive barrage of magic in case whoever had irrupted in there was untrustworthy.

He wanted them to _leave_.

"Ink? You there?"

He relaxed at the distant voice that definitely wasn't Error's, but he couldn't afford to stop the charging attack. It took its sweet time to ready itself; if he let his guard down, he wouldn't have enough time to charge it again in case he was faced with a fight.

He remained silent, circular pupils staring into the general direction the serene voice had come from. He was forcing himself to recognize it. He knew it sounded familiar.

Nothing was screaming danger thus far, but he kept himself alert.

He had been too long without seeing anybody right there with him. The closest he had seen another living being was whenever he risked a peek at any universe he found; he had been shortly met with Error attempting to end some of them before he pulled himself away in fear and rage.

He was definitely having the time of his life with no feisty artist to stop him.

The grassy hill was a few feet ahead, waving with a soft breeze not even Ink himself knew where it came from - and so was the greenish blue clothed skeleton that walked up from behind it, looking intently for something; or, someone.

The glittering golden eyes of the stranger seemed to sparkle when his head craned in his direction, a smile adorning his face.

"Ah, there you are!" he exclaimed, approaching as if they had been friends since the first time they opened their eyes. Ink had a poking feeling of knowing the caped skeleton, but he couldn't bring himself to truly recognize the strange getup he wore.

He seemed to know who he was, but Ink didn't at all. Or did he? He couldn't remember. Whoever that was, though, he didn't ask for a visit.

He wanted that skeleton of light colors to _leave_.

"G-get away from me." he warned, taking a step back as his remaining eye socket narrowed. His pupil, still a circle of livid scarlet, contracted menacingly to let the other know he wasn't in the mood of dealing with unwanted visitors.

The sparkling stranger stopped, his face one of pure confusion as he tilted his head to the side. "H-hey, Ink, you okay? That was a little-"

He blinked almost in disbelief when he seemed to realize how hurt his 'friend' was, and an expression of confusion was quick to change to an overly preoccupied one.

"Oh my- what happened to you?" he nearly screamed, rushing over before the vials glowed an almost blinding white, right at the edge of summoning the harmful attack.

"I said get away from me!" Ink shouted, eye taking on the shape of a glowing lightning bolt.

The other stopped a few feet away from him. His eyes showed a puzzled mix of confusion, uncertainty and worry; he was clearly distraught by his state, but Ink couldn't care less. If he _did_ know who that was, he would remember later. He didn't want someone he couldn't recognize in there.

"..."

"...Ink, don't you remember me? Dream?"

Familiarity was still knocking at his conscience, and Ink granted who said was Dream nothing but thoughtful silence as he tried to remember.

His mind was a mess, but... he thought he could envision his past friends. For one, he had the entire universe of Underswap. That was a good memory. He had... he had Underfell too. Those weren't precisely friends of his, but he joked around them a lot. Core Frisk was one too... Who else? And... and he had...

Dream?

He could remember the day he met a cheerful skeleton of greenish blue clothing. One that just so happened to be there and helped him save the crumbling universe Monofell was from a hellbent Error.

Was the one standing in front of him the same? Had to be...

The vials ceased glowing, their greyscale monotonous again as Ink relaxed and addressed Dream a distrustful sideways glance. He only remembered that he had helped him. He couldn't remember anything else, and that was not enough for him.

Friend or not, he wanted to be alone. He didn't want someone opening up portals to his universe. Error could find them; gaps opening up were hardly ever not noticed by him. They were heavy disruptions in the multiverse that he himself could notice in an instant.

"Yes." Ink deadpanned his answer, an unsure, tiny smile on the other skeleton's face. "Now leave. I don't want anyone here."

And he plopped back down against the paper tree, leaving Dream to figure things out on his own. His smile vanished as the other completely ignored his existence, and he stayed silent. If that was a cruel joke, it was most definitely not funny.

But Dream knew it wasn't a joke. Something grave had happened.

Five seconds in, Ink gave him another sideways scowl. "I said leave. Bye."

Silence.

"Something is wrong with you, Ink. Please, tell me what happened."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: changed some paragraphs and added a few more words here and there.


	3. Hopeless Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ink… you need my help-"
> 
> "I don't want you here. Leave me alone."
> 
> "…just… leave me alone..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter seems lackluster or has any sort of grammatical errors. Wrote this at 2 in the morning. Good job, me. ^_^"

It had been a few weeks, perhaps an entire month, since Dream had seen Ink anywhere. It was the reason why he had come in there in the first place, but he certainly hadn't been expecting what he was met with.

Nothing was right; Dream had never stumbled upon a reason to be as painfully worried as he had been in a place he could only describe as cheerful and, how not, creative.

Ink wasn't being himself. His entire demeanor, so reassuring and competitive, was just... dull. And  _he_  was, too. Just seeing a greyscale of paint vials instead of a reassuring rainbow was odd.

He treated him like a complete stranger, but Dream wasn't about to jump into conclusions. He was badly hurt, and all paths led to it being the same reason as to why he was so anxious.

Whatever had happened, it had been horribly bad.

The teardrop shaped pupil seemed to be glowering at him. Though it was meant to be hostile, it was difficult to see any emotion other than depression in it.

Ink remained silent, finally coping with the fact that Dream wasn't about to take the hint and leave, sighing as he turned his head away to stare off into the distance; his gaze, though, was aimless despite the striking view of never ending color ahead of him.

Dream gave the waving papers hanging off the scribbled branches as they creaked with the calm breeze they danced with a brief glance, at a short loss of words, mostly to wait and see if Ink allowed himself to say anything at all; patience was the key to everything.

It had been a mere distraction, but he was sure he saw some of the waving papers… disintegrating, albeit at a slow rate? He never paid enough attention to truly realize.

"…nothing," was Ink's only reply, sinking his scarred face into the scarf that Dream just realized was heavily burned.

In fact, there were more than a few burns  _all_  over him.

"Of course, and I don't wear a ridiculous cape." Dream retorted; humor usually made Ink at least smile… but he got no response.

Ink himself had told him he wore a ridiculous cape when they met. They probably laughed at it more than the joke deserved to be laughed at, but it was clear that he no longer found it funny.

Ink didn't even look at the awaiting skeleton, whose patient smile curved into a frown of disappointment.

"…I was stupid…"

Eyes of gold glanced up at the scarred skeleton, still not looking at him. Dream could tell by his hushed tone that Ink was talking to himself rather than truly answering his question, but it was a step forward nevertheless.

He definitely needed patience if he wanted to help a friend in need.

He still failed to understand the reason behind Ink's lack of trust towards him, but he sat down at a prudent distance from him just to respect his newfound boundaries.

"Just take it easy, Ink. Even if you don't really seem to remember, we're friends, okay? Whatever is bothering you, you can tell me. Or don't, but… I'd rather be able to help you."

The scathed artist hunched his shoulders like one would mumble to themselves at an annoyance, and stayed silent for a few seconds.

"There's nothing you can do."

A head tilt, "We've always aided each other before. There has to be a way to help you, right?"

"…"

"…no."

He was straightforward. Plain straightforward; otherwise known as something absolutely unthinkable for Ink. He was one to tell his entire life to whoever asked him a simple question with lively enthusiasm, but all the fervor that used to adorn his voice was completely gone.

It was like speaking to a completely different being.

Dream sighed in disappointed defeat as he leaned against the large piece of tough paper behind him, lost eyes searching for help where there was none.

Patience. At least he had gotten Ink to  _say_ something.

"…was I really made for this…?"

Dream gave him a sideways glance. Again he seemed to hold a conversation with himself, but he wasn't going to refuse a chance to find the source of the gargantuan problem.

"What… what  _is_ 'this'?"

More silence. Ink looked upon the sky of gradient shades of orange and floating sheets filled with uninspired scribbles, blinking slowly.

"All of this. Protecting the multiverse, making sure everything is alright… was I really meant to do it…?"

The skeleton of light colors was absolutely puzzled, to say the least. He was sure Ink would rather be called a mediocre artist before even daring to question the meaning the multiverse gave him; the role he so much respected and loved.

Dream shook his head lightly in disbelief, "That's like saying I was never meant to bring happiness to the multiverse; of course you are!"

Ink gave a short, half-suppressed laugh as if it were nothing but a joke, senseless words. "Guess it chose wrong… All this time I've depended on a mere tool for…  _everything_ … What's a monster that can't even use his own magic…"

Dream didn't fully understand where he was getting at, but he did realize the paintbrush was nowhere in sight. He guessed that was what he meant by 'mere tool', outrageous insult he wouldn't normally tolerate.

Where was it? If Ink was present, his paintbrush could never be too far from him.

"I realize now…" Ink continued; he seemed to be rambling at that point, but Dream would not be the one to stop him. He had to link every new piece of scrambled information he was getting. "Maybe meant to improve or change universes, sure… but protect them? Guess he was right, I should save that joke."

Dream blinked.

"Ink, who is he?"

He had adopted a more serious tone; the shakiness on Ink's voice as he mentioned someone out of his knowledge was heavy with preoccupation.

Ink suddenly went quiet. Not the type of silence as he would overthink an answer, like he had been doing thus far; he went dead silent, and Dream was in no way comfortable with that nagging feeling of fear building up around him

"Ink?"

Still nothing. It was as if he had shut down.

He was looking downwards, limp arm heavily clutched by the other as his face further sank into the charred scarf.

He was shaking.

Dream stood up when the nagging fear became tugging worry; he saw parts of the creator fade at random intervals for a single second before going back to normal. "I-Ink…?"

He reached out of his shoulder before Ink hastily stood up, whirling around to glare at him with a lightning bolt shaped pupil of flashing reds. "Don't  _touch_ me."

Dream took a shocked step back as he was threateningly glowered at. Ink seemed to have ceased 'glitching', per say, but he was still shaking.

"I'm done talking. Just… just  _leave_."

He slowly walked away; only then was Dream able to notice how he limped, albeit just barely. He was frozen in place, hand still reaching out to nothing before he slowly retreated it.

"Ink… you need my help-"

" _I don't want you here._ Leave me  _alone."_

"…just… leave me alone..."

Certainly, the hopeless aura that surrounded the limping skeleton was sickening.

* * *

 

Dream hadn't progressed much, but he was getting closer to unveiling just what could have been terrible enough to transform Ink into something he was not.

He had found himself unable to leave the Doodle Sphere, not after encountering Ink in such state. He respected that extensive personal bubble of his, but he didn't leave.

He truly had lost hope. Dream had only managed to hold short and straightforward conversations with him thus far, but he saw no positivity in anything. Jokes didn't work, encouragements didn't work… nothing worked.

He had tried to heal him, too, but for reasons unknown to the both of them, his healing magic had no effect on the many scars and cracked bones.

Dream had also come to the horrifying realization that Ink was soulless after that, something that got the creator quiet for more than a while.

That surely explained his harsh and dull attitude, but the real question left without answer was:  _why?_

Dream still hadn't managed to find out who 'he' was; no hint other than the fact that he was obviously a malevolent being that had fought against and brutally defeated Ink. Likely  _more_  than malevolent, if possible, given the terrible wounds Ink had gotten from that.

He could only guess his paintbrush was destroyed in battle. It had to be the only plausible reason why it was nowhere around.

He didn't know of many inhabitants of the multiverse actively wishing to fight Ink, much less trying so vividly to kill him. It definitely hadn't been his brother's doing; as much as he hated to think about it… Ink's state would seem a merciful kill compared to what Nightmare would gladly do to him.

Dream had decided it would be best to leave that aside for the moment, though. Whoever had been responsible would be revealed sooner or later… what he was truly concerned about was Ink's state.

He had given up on everything he had ever known, and that was certainly not good.

The longest conversation they had been able to keep was when Ink told him that he finally realized just how 'wrong' he had been, how many things he hadn't realized.

" _This is a dangerous place… and I've been treating it like a playground. These doors… they aren't just portals. They_ are  _the universes… if anything happens to them in here, they're gone. Forever. If… if_ he  _finds this place… he'll kill everyone… I can't leave. No, he can't know I'm here. If he does, he'll search for me… and I know he'll get here one day… The only thing I can do is stay here… this is the only way I could truly aid in the protection of the multiverse."_

And he resorted back to short answers after that, but Dream had gathered enough information for a day.

Long story short, Ink had lost a great portion of his emotions and faith in himself. And he also seemed to frankly fear that 'he'.

Dream had been unable to convince him otherwise regarding his solution. It was true that he wasn't meant to be a skilled fighter as not many things were able to harm the multiverse in its entirety, but that didn't meant he was a failure.

It was all he called himself. A failure.

The only option Dream came across regarding his friend's overwhelming depression was to simply wait. Ink needed company more than ever, no matter if he refused to share his timeline with someone else.

He needed positive reinforcement, constant reminders of his true self.

Dream just hoped he hadn't been too late… isolation could really mess with someone, and he wouldn't deem Ink as a particularly sane skeleton at the moment… neither a stable one, both physically and mentally speaking.


	4. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Nobody will find this place, alright? You were having a bad dream, that’s all.”
> 
> “N-no… he’ll… Underswap is g-gone…”
> 
> “Underswap is badly damaged, but not gone. What you saw wasn’t real.”
> 
> “H-h-he knew… h-he knew what was happening to me…”

_Underswap truly was a beautiful and serene place to be in._

_The static cold of Snowdin had no effect on its inhabitants as they cheerfully strolled by, playing, laughing, working, living in joyous peace._

_Ink always loved to watch them from those small, woody hills overlooking the town; it was as peaceful as Outertale’s starry skies full of wonders as far as the eye can see._

_He didn’t know why, he simply found it relaxing to watch them. Underswap was simply one of the most tranquil universes out there; genocide runs were scarce, and everyone just seemed more cheerful and talkative._

_Maybe that was just him, but he was fine as long as he could enjoy a peaceful sight._

_Kids playing there, people decorating the Christmas tree here… everyone talking, helping each other, walking around waving at their neighbors… kids happily skipping past disintegrating trees and chasing each other…_

_…wait, what?_

_Ink stood up, former smile upside down as he squinted at the blurred grove. It was too far away from him to let him see it properly, but he was sure he saw… numbers? Clouding the trees at an increasing rate?_

_He heard something behind him. A sound he could only describe as coding, a mess of mixed clicks and soft beeps that sounded downright otherworldly. He questioned if there was an alien computer behind him as he turned around._

_He took a step back. The trees behind him were surrounded by a cloud of numbers and skipping words he couldn’t read, disintegrating into small rectangles of white and black until their existence became a past memory._

_And the snow. The snow below him was fading away, too, into those same squares that began floating away as if a powerful gust of wind was sending them into the nonexistent sky like minuscule bits of sand._

_Feeling panic slowly increase around him, Ink whirled around as the snowy ground he stood on began fading to black; he wished he hadn’t, because certainly enough, the sight of Snowdin falling prey to unnatural coding was not a sight he wanted to behold._

_Every part of him told him to rush into town and get all those people out of there, but everything was being swirled into nothingness at an alarming rate. He was barely able to take a single step before the snow, the trees, the houses, the monsters were replaced by sheer darkness._

_They all faded away in silence._

_“Wha-“_

_He looked around him in sheer panic. What had been peace all around became an unbearable ocean of pitch black; his head hurt at the lack of color._

_And his heart hurt at the fact that Underswap had just vanished._

_“H-hello?!”_

_There was nothing. No sound but his own echo. There wasn’t a single sign of life around him, and the silence suddenly became deafening as he looked into every existing direction._

_Everything was gone._

_“No… no, no, no, no!”_

_For some reason, he was surrounded by a strong feeling of déjà vu, but he couldn’t quite put the pieces together. He hadn’t been gifted an elephant memory, but he was sure he would remember such thing if it had happened before._

_It was a mere tugging, but panic was quick to overpower it. All that went through his mind was why and how and why he was in the middle of an endless void._

_At least, he only thought of that until his arms were tightly pinned to his sides before he was even able to hear the telltale, ghostly creaking behind him._

_He gasped as the strings seemed to lift him with hitched breath; they weren’t tight enough to fully prevent him from breathing, but it wasn’t precisely easy to do so._

_**“well, well, what do we have here?”** _

_He ceased his useless struggle against the threads to search for the broken voice that echoed across the empty space, making a double take when certain glitched skeleton suddenly happened to be standing a few feet in front of him._

_“You…” Ink growled; he was legitimately scared, but that was definitely not the emotion that shone through his eyes as he glared at Error._

_**“heh, if it isn’t the little artist… always so predictable.”** _

_“What have you done to Underswap?!”_

_Despite defenseless, Ink never threw away his fighting spirit, but Error grinned mockingly at his useless bravery and hostility._

_**“let’s just say you won’t have to worry about that ridiculous universe anymore.”** _

_The creator’s narrowed eyes slowly widened, pupils indecisively flickering between asymmetrically colored triangles._

_No, it couldn’t be…_

_Entire universes couldn’t be wiped out like that!_

_Something… something was off. Something had to be off. But it all felt too real…_

_**“hey, don’t be surprised, that’s just the beginning of it… hope you didn’t get too attached to all those anomalies out there.”** _

_Teeth gritted in spite, Ink directed Error a furious glare of vivid diamonds painted in flaming crimson. “No… you’ll never get away with this!”_

_A chuckle, cold and heartless. **“and who’s gonna stop me? you? come on, you’re in no position to play the hero.”**_

_**“…after all, you’re nothing but a failure. you said so yourself, didn’t you?”** _

_The bound skeleton flinched in shock._

_He felt like there was something he should know, and the same time something that was completely wrong… but the meaning slipped from his grip before he could even give it a proper look._

_**“just deal with the truth, don’t fill yourself with fake hopes.”** His hand curled; the strings began tightening, slowly, as he spoke. **“this multiverse is a broken place. something that was never meant to exist. and you, you’re nothing but a virus in it. the sooner you realize, the better it’ll be for you. i know where you hide, buddy. and once i locate that little timeline of yours…”**_

_**“i** **͘ wi** **ll** **ma** **͞** **ke** **s** **͡** **u** **͟** **re** **҉** **n** **̢** **e** **͟** **i** **͢** **the** **̶** **r** **͠** **yo** **͢** **u** **̷** **n** **̴** **o** **̵** **r** **͘** **͡** **y** **̵** **ou** **҉** **r** **͠** **͞** **d** **҉** **is** **̨** **g** **̕** **ust** **͡** **i** **̵** **n** **҉** **g** **̷** **cr** **͏** **e** **̷** **a** **̡** **t** **̡** **i** **͞** **on** **͏** **s com** **̴** **e** **̕** **ba** **c** **̢** **k** **͞** **.”**_

_He giggled, then chuckled, then broke into a cruel fit of mirth as he began to mercilessly tighten the strings to an unbearable point._

_Ink screamed in agony as they threatened to crush his bones into dust, but Error only cackled sadistically at the sound of cracking bones and pained shrieks._

_The powerful threads were only seconds away from shattering Ink’s body-_

* * *

 

He screamed, bolting to a sitting position as he threw a hand over his cracked eye – leaking again, black ink dripping down his phalanges.

He was hyperventilating, his body fading from existence at random intervals as he mumbled unintelligible, terrified words to himself.

Dream rushed over at the horrified screech that disrupted the general peace that had gladly settled upon the Doodle Sphere, his heart wrenching as he saw Ink curled in a panicking ball next to the origami tree.

He kept repeating it over and over again between aghast sobs.

“He’s going to kill me, he’s going to kill me, he’s going to kill me, he’s going to kill me, he’s going to kill me, _he’s going to kill me_ ,”

It was easy to realize – he had had the same nightmare again.

Or at least, Dream thought it was the same. He always woke up like that, sometimes even charging that acidic magic he had grown to be afraid of, but not getting to the point of actually attacking.

That he was always present in the nightmare, and Dream could safely guess it was the same he Ink often mentioned a single time before throwing the subject aside.

That time, though, he seemed way more terrified.

Dream fought hard against his heart not to let it burst into the same panic attack Ink was having, and carefully made his way next to him.

He had never had to deal with a panic attack before, but he had learnt that Ink was basically untouchable while glitching, and he was forced to wait until it stopped before he could try his best to calm him down.

It wasn’t pleasant not to be able to do anything while a friend was losing his mind out of utter terror.

“He knows, he’ll find me, he’s- h-he’ll destroy everything- it’s my fault, _it’s my fault_ , **_it’s all my fault…!_** ”

“Ink, please…”

It was an instinct for Dream to rest a hand upon the fading shoulder, regretfully pulling away when a powerful shock was sent all the way up his arm.

Ink seemed to have stopped glitching short afterwards, though, the leaked ink staining his forearm with black melting into nothing.

“It’s alright, nobody is here but me, no one is going to hurt you.”

The touch of his hand, palm enveloped by a faint golden glow, on his shoulder seemed to have stopped the sobbing and quiet his hurried breathing down. His eye remained tightly closed.

“Calm down, breathe.”

Ink did as told, breaths coming in silent gasps before quieting down, his eye halfway open; his pupil, a circle of dull blue, was contracted to a tiny dot.

“Nobody will find this place, alright? You were having a bad dream, that’s all.”

“N-no… he’ll… Underswap is g-gone…”

“Underswap is badly damaged, but not gone. What you saw wasn’t real.”

“H-h-he knew… h-he knew what was happening to me…”

“Ink, look at me.”

There was a brief pause before a flickering pupil met his own golden ones. “Did that ‘he’ ever notice you were alive?”

“…n-no…”

“Then he doesn’t know you still live. He doesn’t know where you are. Nothing you saw was real. Just rest for a while, relax… you’ll see how there’s no way it ever happened.”

“…f-fine.”

He was shaking like a leaf; even his pupil was shaking.

Dream feared his panic attacks were getting worse each day that passed by, each _second_ that passed by. He was growing more and more paranoid, delirious even.

He stayed with him until he fully snapped out of it. Dream was always mindful of keeping his distance – anything to build trust back, and respecting boundaries had been a good start so far.

Ink said nothing, and merely stared off into the many doors. Dream instead had a thoughtful glance planted on the tree; he had realized that each time Ink panicked, the sheets would detach from the branches and fade away.

Ink was one with the multiverse, after all. Whatever happened to him would affect his timeline, and if it was too affected by his precarious conditions… the universes would soon be harmed too.

If only Dream knew the sheer amount of responsibility that was about to land on top of him from that day on…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love cliffhangers. c:


	5. Good Deed, or Mistake?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “this is the last time, ink. i will find you, you and your pitiful little buddy. and believe me when i say you wi̴ll̛ r̢e͠g͏re̵t ̡t̡his ͞so. bad̷ly.”
> 
> “i w̸il̷l̵ ḩa̵ve̷ ̡fu̶n̢ ki̢l̨li̴n̵g̸ y͠o͝u̷ ҉b͝ot͏h.”

To be fair, Dream was content with how the situation was handling itself. Ink had been insomniac for approximately a week before he calmed himself down, leaving his paranoia aside as he would try to focus on the fact that he was well away from harm's way.

He hadn't had any more nightmares... _yet_ , but each day without him panicking was a good day. He still glitched out, though. His body simply couldn't keep itself together for long, and Dream feared that would have no solution.

If it did, it was far away from his reach.

But overall, it was all going relatively fine. Dream wasn't about to say it was perfect, but Ink was opening up a little to the world that surrounded him and reducing his personal bubble.

He still avoided long conversations, several questions, and of course the unveiling of that 'he', but was definitely gaining enough trust.

Or maybe he was just playing along so that Dream would eventually leave him alone, but something was something.

Dream still feared for the timeline. The tree was nearly leafless – or paperless, rather – at that point, and some of the mosaics that decorated its sides were losing their color.

It wasn't just panic attacks that broke the colorful universe; it was Ink's instability as a whole. The only way to get him to stop, to be himself, Dream feared, was to fix him. Something with an unknown answer.

He didn't know how long that would take, not even if it was possible, but he was sure it would take time they didn't have if things kept going like they were.

"I would be able to fix that," Ink had told him one day, when the subject was first brought up. "if I had my paintbrush. If I had my _own_ magic." He had zoned out, enraged and disappointed thoughts crossing his mind as he would stare at nothing in particular with a narrowed eye.

That was one of the things that affected him the most. The fact that he couldn't do anything without that oversized art tool of his.

Dream would have never guessed that Ink, as a guardian, held no magic of his own and depended fully on a breakable tool to keep the multiverse thriving. Something wasn’t right… or perhaps it was a misunderstanding, but it didn’t seem like one.

He could imagine his powers coming from his staff only – and without it, he would be defenseless. Dream knew it wouldn’t be the case for him, but he could see how unfair and wrong it would be considering his role in the multiverse.

Perhaps he could use other magic aside from the acidic ink his colorless vials produced, but Ink had been there for a long time and he hadn't managed to accomplish anything in that regard.

The max he could do was bring dull paintings to life and watch them fade within five minutes or less. Dream could only wonder how painful it had to be for him.

He wasn't as delirious as before, but he wasn't any less depressed. Dream wouldn't blame him for it...

He once found something really interesting as he strolled through the colorful timeline once Ink decided it was about time to stop talking. Interestingly saddening, rather.

It was a page, floating in the air at arm's reach. A note, per say, like the ripped page of a diary. The only reason it had caught his attention was because it had words written on it as opposed to senseless scribbles, and one part of him was glad he had come across them.

It helped him understand what Ink was going through with more clarity; he had been writing a journal of scrambled pages that were scattered all over the timeline.

_'A week after the fight. I haven't made any progress today, either. Still can't move my arm, and it's definitely not going to heal anytime soon. I can't even hold a pencil. I just can't get used to drawing with a single hand even if I'm ambidextrous, it... doesn't feel right. I can't concentrate, I don't get any inspiration... I'm going crazy. But... it's for the best. I can give up drawing if it means the multiverse will be safe.'_

Dream believed he had found them all, and if he hadn't, he probably only missed a couple. He had managed to order them, though it became difficult as the latest entries lacked any sort of date.

Ink had written one for the day they met.

_'I don't even know how long it's been already... but I have other concerns. Dream is here now... why do I barely remember him? I know we were friends, but why exactly? Who is he? And... why does he want to help me this much? I'm broken, that's all there is to it. I can't remember anything, I can't do anything... what's the point anymore...?'_

All entries were full of rhetorical questions and hopeless thoughts; it was truly depressing to look at. Ink was going through something he had never deserved...

If only Dream had any hint as to who that 'he' was... None of the wrinkled pages really mentioned him, except for one he wrote the day his recurring nightmare caused him a panic attack in which he made himself believe he was being hunted down.

He stared at the papers in his hands. Every entry Ink had written so far had been found by him; the careless skeleton hadn't seemed to truly mind about his diary being read by someone else, so Dream decided to keep the pages.

Both were staring at what respectively was in front of them; the pages for Dream, the door to Underfell for Ink. He had been looking at it intently for a while now, but Dream supposed he just needed to make sure his creations were fine and remember that they still existed.

But Ink was seeing something much different than what his friend thought.

He stayed perfectly still as he watched; a portal wouldn't show up to the door's respective universe unless one made to step through it – Ink did _not_ want to be seen just yet.

The door showed him the beginning of the timeline; the flower patch, a generally quiet and peaceful place, especially in Underfell where Flowey had no intentions of causing a scene so early into the adventure.

However, that peace was shredded by a terrified Frisk running for their life, the bruised flower on their shoulder as they sprinted away from the dozens of strings coming their way trying their best to reach the Ruins.

The kid's leg was quickly enveloped by the blue threads following their every move, effectively causing them to fall and subsequently plead for their life almost in tears as the strings began dragging them towards a Sans that didn't belong in that universe.

They tried everything; claw at the stone floor, hold Flowey's weak roots as they held protruding rocks in the way... the skeleton was having fun as the two defenseless critters fought for dear life.

Ink simply couldn't take it.

If Error was after Frisk and Flowey, it meant Underfell was next in line for certain obliteration.

He couldn't allow it. He just... _couldn't._ How many universes had crumbled on his watch? Monofell, Negatale, Storyspin, heck, even Underkeep! Perhaps keeping his timeline safe protected the multiverse from mass destruction, but if Error kept erasing timelines at that rate, his sacrifice would be utterly useless.

He had to try. He could at least use a type of magic that aided him in battle, couldn't he? He wasn't willing to fight Error; only stop him from erasing Underfell. Anything to give them time.

He wasn't useless. He was a protector. He had vowed to keep each and every universe away from harm... He couldn't stand and watch, not anymore, not without trying at least once!

He had to prove himself!

Paint vials glowing a blinding white, he stood up with a clenched fist and a flashing pupil with the shape of a fiery lightning bolt of ever-changing colors.

"Not anymore," he murmured to himself, before jumping straight through the door.

Dream heard the familiar charging of the harmful attack, and drowned in terrified concern when Ink leaped through the open portal.

Something was _wrong._

* * *

Frisk was hyperventilating and sobbing as the strings kept on dragging them towards the skeleton of murderous intent, desperately weeping for their life through tears.

 **"oh, come on, quit whining already."** Error rolled his eyes, more strings coming to take their scarlet soul and threaten to squeeze Flowey's feeble stem to nothing as the two shook in heartfelt terror.

His golden grin widened sickeningly. **"i promise it won't hurt too much. heh heh."**

Amongst the desperate pleads of the human, he did hear something else, though he couldn't quite tell what, exactly. It was a faint noise; he suspected it was the timeline's Toriel readying her attack to neutralize 'the weed' before stopping herself at the unusual scene.

Error sure hoped it was her – three glitches one after the other, who could wish for a better start?

But out of all the possibilities, he sure hadn't been expecting the noise to come from a presence that didn't even belong in Underfell.

He took a step away in shock as white and grey acid was launched into his strings like bullets, successfully snapping them like nothing and dropping a terrified human and flower to the cold ground.

Frisk and their little companion wasted no time in getting the hell out of there, the human child nearly losing their footing as they hastily stood up.

With a broken growl, Error glared at whoever had the audacity to interrupt him before his asymmetrical eyes went wide.

**"what the..."**

At that point, he was literally expecting anything to stand there – anything, but the virus he had gladly killed not even that long ago.

Breathing heavily, Ink took a step back, the portal swirling weakly only a few feet behind him as the vials ceased glowing.

 **"you... i _killed_ you."** Error practically snarled, glaring menacingly at the other skeleton who was more than ready to jump straight to the portal if he was met with any dangerously imminent hints of an incoming attack.

Error’s black hands were curled into fists of red and yellow as he spoke, his tone decreasing to a chilling growl as he glowered, **"i tortured you until you begged for mercy, i destroyed your soul... _how are you still alive?"_**

All his instincts were urging Ink to get out of there, but he didn't know if it was hatred or fear that didn't let him move.

"Does that matter?" he suddenly yelled, effective when it came to surprise the broken monster. "As long... as long as I still live, the multiverse won't fall victim to your hypocrisy."

Error stayed in silence, wide-eyed, before breaking into an amused chuckle. **"you're hard to get rid of, i'll give you that. and stubborn too."**

He gave the general direction the human and flower had gone through a short, deadpan glance. **"look, you made me lose two glitches. that's not very nice."**

Ink further backed towards the swirling portal, slowly, without catching too much of Error's attention as his corrupted voice began to drop. Something was telling him to attack. To at least blind him – to do _something_.

But he knew he'd only make things worse.

**"and you're gonna pay for it, buddy."**

Before he could realize, dozens of strings were summoned, and more than a few were making their way towards him like arrows piercing through the air in search for their target.

He was forced to jump out of the way, scarcely missing the threads' grip; his reflexes knew he would have been caught had he decided to escape through the gap.

Though, he heavily questioned that choice when a Gaster Blaster appeared out of thin air, its maw of black fangs pointed straight towards the swirling gap.

If Ink had a heart, any sort of heart, it would have stopped.

_What had he been thinking?_

He couldn't afford to question anything, he had to make a run for it – he wouldn't have time to make another portal before Error decided to end him.

**"tsk, tsk, tsk, i don't think so."**

The floating skull, a terrifying face of blood-red eyes, fired a blinding laser of white splotched by black _'error'_ messages following it like a swarm of tireless flies.

How the beam hadn't hit him was absolutely beyond his knowledge, because the portal had been shattered to colorful pieces only mere inches away from Ink. He hadn't lost his balance either, and the only thing that could worry him was the scalding debris flying in his direction as he covered his scarred face.

In a way, it was what Error wanted. He remembered which arm was broken.

As hot wind waved what was left of his scarf and flaming shrapnel danced past him, the threads wasted no time to catch a hold of his left arm. Or, specifically, his forearm, casting an excruciating stricture over his damaged ulna.

Ink gasped in shock as the bundle of strings began tightening; the pain didn’t let him fight against them as they threw him to the harsh ground despite his feeble struggle.

In a wave of panic, he attempted to ignore his arm’s suffering and get up before more strings pinned him down as effectively as common blue magic would, except with a bigger feeling of constraint.

 **"really now?"** Error chuckled, though Ink barely acknowledged him as the pain on his forearm continued to increase. **"you hardly put up a fight! that was pretty lame if you ask me."**

"I don't... I d-don't want to f-fight..." he responded weakly, the strings around his cracked ribcage preventing him from breathing. The pain was so harsh he felt like he was going to faint; he was worried his arm had already been severed off.

**"aww, how sad."**

The strings were rendered as taut as they could possibly be with a simple curl of phalanges, but Ink refused to scream as he felt his ulna being bent the wrong way. It wasn't like he  _could_ scream, anyways. He could barely breathe at all.

**"but hey, just to show you i'm not some sort of heartless monster, i'll make it quick this time."**

The pressure threatening to crush his forearm into dust was promptly released once he showed signs of giving up – as a Gaster Blaster was summoned, aiming directly at him with an already charging maw.

Desperation drove Ink to try and writhe free from the threads, but he could hardly move.

No, it was better that way. He was useless; what was the point? Nothing he had done was working. So many people across the multiverse had lost their life, and all because of him. He couldn't save a single universe without being able to save himself.

There was no way he was _meant_ to protect the multiverse. The dots never connected.

And he simply closed his remaining eye, awaiting the lethal laser to take him out of his misery.

**"not even gonna try to talk me out of it? jeez, you're no fun at all. oh well."**

The Blaster opened its jaws of serrated teeth, a light brighter than that of a beacon's illuminating it as the blast charged. Ink hadn't realized he was trembling.

"...w-what's t-t-the point anyways..."

_"DON'T!"_

Error was seconds away from firing when yet another blinding light irrupted; a yellow one, coming from a bright portal the broken skeleton had never realized was there.

A beam of gold was shot out of Dream's staff, successful in imploding the shadowed skull out of existence and, subsequently, causing Error bewildered rage.

Dream landed between the two skeletons defiantly, staff held tightly in his hand.

He hadn't been expecting the mysterious, oblivious monster who had endangered the multiverse in its entirety to be Error, but it didn't help in worrying him any less. 

 **"oh. you again."** Error merely deadpanned, hands back in his pockets.

He and Error had only met once; and that once had been when he helped Ink get him away from Monofell, which had already been erased from existence. They hadn't had what one would call a good start.

“Stay away from him.” Dream warned, taking a small step back. Error didn’t seem impressed in the slightest. “Don’t you realize what you’ve done?”

 **“i only realize what i _could’ve_ done if it weren’t for you two.” **Error said, angrily, glaring at the defiant skeleton with monotonous eyes. **“just who do you think you are to stop me from cleaning this broken world?”**

“Who do _you_ think you are to cause this much suffering?” retorted Dream, hurt rage accompanying his voice. “Ink’s life is ruined, all because you decided to fight him without reason!”

Error snorted. **“without reason? don’t make me laugh. whatever happened to him, he asked for it. i didn’t start this, _he_ did.”**

“…what?”

**“let me clear this up for ya. this freak came into my void on his own. _he_ wanted to fight, to ‘save his precious little creations’ or whatever. i warned him, but he kept going. if he was willing to die so badly, i wasn’t about to say no.”**

Dream could only stare, blinking once, slowly.

Why on Earth would Ink risk so much? He was well aware that Error would eventually destroy everything if he wasn’t stopped, but it was crazy for someone to fight him _alone_.

No, he was sure there had to be a reason for him to do such a thing.

**“so now, stick to your ridiculous goodie-goodie coding and let me finish this pathetic idiot off.”**

Dream’s eye sockets narrowed as he backed next to Ink, his voice submerged in a defiant tone, “I won’t let you kill him.”

Ink looked at him weakly; the strings were effectively restraining his breathing to a dangerous point, and the dim glow of the staff seemed blurry. “D-Dream…?”

Said skeleton only needed a mere swipe to cut all the strings off, and Ink waited no longer before gasping for air, coughing through his cracked ribs as he feebly rolled onto his side.

One of Dream’s biggest concerns was how he was going to get Ink out of there. He was too weak to even move, even though he saw no new scathes on him and guessed the strings’ powerful grip had only dazed him.

He did know that at least one Gaster Blaster had been used, given the smoking trench that most definitely did not belong there, but Ink would definitely be in a much worse condition if it had hit him.

He valiantly fought against the flaming glare Error was giving him as he readied his magic just in case everything went south. “Now leave this place. There’s no need to fight.”

He only received skipping laughter as a response, a chuckle of indecisive pitch and speed.

 **“how adorable.”** He held an arm by his side, strings summoning to his command. **“but i came here with a purpose. and if i can’t eradicate underfell just yet, then _you_ _will be the ones to go._ ” **

Dream held the staff with both arms, teeth clenched as he awaited whatever had to come next; he wasn’t about to contribute to the fight, and would wait until he found a good moment to escape.

Or try to.

Ink managed to push himself up, his arm trembling as he watched what was unveiling in front of him.

The strings shot out towards Dream at a terrifying speed, wrapping tightly around the staff he held up to his chest to avoid being caught. It began glowing before snapping the threads with a small shockwave of glitter.

“Error, just stop, neither of us wants to fight!”

**“pity; i do.”**

Dream tensed when a macabre Gaster Blaster materialized above the glitched skeleton, breaking apart in the air as its laser charged while the monster of negative colors below it grinned sickeningly.

The beam was promptly fired, the golden grin widening, and Dream only had a scarce second to create a shield around him that efficiently stopped the blast.

However, the Blaster didn’t dematerialize, and the laser kept on searing the translucent barrier.

 **“you’ll have to give up sooner or later,”** Error mocked in a singsong voice, increasing the Blasters’ power.

Its sheer force proved to be a dangerous opponent to the skeleton of light colors; his grip on his glowing weapon firm, he was being pushed back along with the barrier by the blast as it continued to damage the shield.

He risked a sideways glance behind him, “I-ink! Quick! Get out of here, I won’t be able to keep this up for much longer!”

Ink could only stare in shock and disbelief.

Why was Dream risking his life for him? He was as good as dead anyways. Why bother? He was nothing but an useless addition to the multiverse; he wasn’t worthy of being saved.

“ _Now!”_

The shield began to crack as Error laughed, and the creator was snapped out of his thoughts.

He was only doing as told to get Dream away from certain death, and escaped through the portal his savior had summoned with hitched breath.

Tired and beyond, Dream made sure the other skeleton had left before taking a calculating step back. He waited, just a few more seconds…

He swiped his staff to the side, the shield disintegrating in command as he jumped to the side – the blast scorched the stone ground right next to him, sending smoke and burned rocks all over the place.

Dream took profit of the smoke curtain to vanish through the portal.

And, to say the least, Error was absolutely furious to see that the two had escaped once the grey smoke began to clear out of sight. He quite literally growled to himself, breathing heavily after the exceed of magic he had uselessly wasted and curling his fists until they crackled.

 **“ _this is the last time, ink. i_ will _find you, you and your pitiful little buddy. and believe me when i say you wi_** ** _̴_** ** _ll_** ** _̛_** **_r_** ** _̢_** ** _e_** ** _͠_** ** _g_** ** _͏_** ** _re_** ** _̵_** ** _t_** ** _̡_** ** _t_** ** _̡_** ** _his_** **_͞_** ** _so. bad_** ** _̷_** ** _ly.”_**

 **“i w** **̸** **il** **̷** **l** **̵** **h** **̧** **a** **̵** **ve** **̷** **̡** **fu** **̶** **n** **̢** **ki** **̢** **l** **̨** **li** **̴** **n** **̵** **g** **̸** **y** **͠** **o** **͝** **u** **̷** **҉** **b** **͝** **o** **t** **͏** **h** **.”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, man. We've done messed up...


	6. Of a Hopeless Artist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sadness, despair, doubt, fear, anger, anguish… all of it together, swirling around without mercy; it was overwhelming, painful… Dream felt his own tears sting his eye sockets, but he refused to let them fall.

“What were you _thinking_ back there?”

Tired beyond what he could handle, Dream had found Ink under the fading shade of the paper leaves still hanging off the tree – already confirmed to be his favorite place to be for reasons only he knew –, clutching his arm in seeming pain and shaking.

To push him too much after what had happened was Dream’s last intention, but he had to know just what drove Ink to even _think_ of facing Error like that.

Much to his relief, he wasn’t panicking or even corrupting himself, but he was in obvious pain and distress when he found him.

“I-I don’t… I c- _can’t_ …”

“Hey, calm down, alright? Take your time-“

“I don’t- I don’t know what else to do, I… _I can’t do this anymore…”_

He sobbed; seeing him so desperate, so stricken, at the edge of tears… it was one of the worst feelings Dream had ever seen clouding anyone.

No, he couldn’t have his question answered just yet.

He sat down with care, always mindful of that still existent boundary though it seemed to be Ink’s last concern as he held back a river of tears.

“I just… wanted to prove myself… I- I couldn’t let him destroy anything else…” He gave a trembling sigh. “Who am I kidding… I’m useless… Nothing I do works, I don’t-… I don’t even know who I am anymore…”

“Don’t downgrade yourself like that!”

Ink flinched ever so slightly at Dream’s sudden increase of tone, though he was more surprised at his own outburst. It hadn’t been his intention to yell like that, but he wouldn’t be the one to let Ink give up thinking he was a hopeless failure…

He simply couldn’t let it happen.

“Listen to me, you’re _not_ useless. You've done so much for everyone. And you saved Underfell, didn’t you?”

He had only guessed that with a reassuring smile; only the fact that Error just so happened to be there and Ink’s mention of not wanting him to keep his destructive path ongoing were his only hints. His belief, though, proved to be true.

“…and for what? Someone meant to protect these many lives is worth nothing if he can only save of couple of them, and temporarily.”

His eye was trembling as he clenched it shut when he sobbed again, burying his face into his burned scarf. “Let’s just face it… I was never meant to hold this much of a role… Now… because of my stupidity, it’s all lost…”

His voice cracked, and for a moment, Dream thought he was feeling as hopeless as he was. It wasn’t a pretty feeling.

“Error knows I’m alive now… and nobody will stop him from f-finding this place… all because I tried to be something I’m _not..._ ”

Sadness, despair, doubt, fear, anger, anguish… all of it together, swirling around without mercy; it was overwhelming, _painful_ … Dream felt his own tears sting his eye sockets, but he refused to let them fall.

“Please, don’t say that, you’re not-“

“You should’ve just let me die.”

* * *

 No. Wrong. Not that one. Next. Still not. No. No. _No._

**“argh, this is _pointless_.”**

Error shut the window portal with a furious swipe before staring into the nothingness of white that surrounded every inch of his world.

That had been his millionth try, approximately, at finding that virus’ timeline. Just a single hint of it, anything close to it… but nothing. It was probably hidden within files, or just too far away from all the universes to truly be perceived.

Just to bait either of the two into revealing themselves, he had seriously considered getting rid of Dreamtale, as he had long ago located it… but he didn’t want to mess with the psychotic brother that was more than capable of obliterating him.

It infuriated him, but he had to deal with what he had.

At least, he had gotten some great information. Ink was alive, but he was less of a threat. Oh so much less, he couldn’t even defend himself.

That was perfect.

He didn’t know much about Dream, but he figured it wouldn’t be too hard to get the glittery sack of bones out of the way. Besides, he didn’t belong in whatever timeline the creator remained hidden in… he would gladly wait until he left once he found it.

He knew what awaited him there; Ink had once been stupid enough to blurt out the truth. To think that each and every single universe could be right there, right in front of him, was a dream come true.

He wouldn’t have to waste his time killing every single monster or human that inhabited the broken timeline, no matter how fun it could be; all it would take was the simple usage of a Gaster Blaster and goodbye anomaly.

He could just imagine Ink’s reaction to all those filthy glitches he had created get destroyed, one by one… He would keep him alive throughout it all just to have him see what his mistakes could bring.

He would just have to keep trying. He felt like that timeline wasn’t far from him. Keeping an eye on everything was his key to the core of that plague, and he would gladly wait until that day came.

**“one of these days, pal, one of these days.”**

He figured he’d be better off in Outertale. That one would definitely be the last to go down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time... In my defense I'll say this one was meant to be a filler, but still short. And full of dem feels. ;(


	7. Find Your Enthusiasm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink sobbed shakily, rubbing the tears off his face; the grey trails soon faded away, and he fought not to keep the tears flowing despite his need to release his sorrow. "M-maybe I don't deserve kindness at this p-point... but... promise me these universes won't die..."
> 
> "..."
> 
> "I promise."

Dream was getting a taste of what a panic attack felt like, and it wouldn't be something he'd gladly laugh about later on.

Ink had straight up stopped talking to him,  _looking_  at him; his existence was vane. Dream kept on trying over and over again to catch his attention, but it was all fruitless and his worry only increased.

He shuddered whenever he remembered that the last thing Ink told him was that he should have let him die.

He was losing himself more and more each day; he saw no point in anything, he ceased drawing and writing, watching over the universes that surrounded him... he completely gave up on life.

Was that not what Dream had been trying to prevent so fervently? He, too, felt like a failure.

Ink wanted to die. That was it. The point of living had escaped his sight, and he wasn't about to get up and look for it again. He would just stay there until he disappeared. He simply didn't care.

Each time Dream looked at him, he would be deep in thought, the teardrop defining the shape of his pupil always monotonous and dull, hopeless. He would stare at nothing, motionless, sometimes trying to hide his tears.

The paper leaves of the tree had all vanished, and its branches were blank. The timeline was running out of time.

"Ink, please, just  _say_  something!"

Attempt number... something of countless zeros for sure, but the apathetic artist continued to sit in silence, always refusing to make eye contact with his friend who was nothing but an annoyance to him at that point.

His eye socket twitched briefly, and Dream couldn't tell if Ink was mad or trying not to cry as he awaited a response in despair.

"Just... _talk_  to me, I don't know what else to do..." His voice, so afflicted that Dream felt pain by simply speaking, trailed off as he kept his tears hidden. "I don't want this place to disappear... don't you care? All of this will be gone!"

But he still got no response other than a slight hunch, and he let his shoulders drop with a deeply hurt sigh.

Was that really the end to his countless efforts? Was it really  _over_? He had done all he could and more... and Ink still pretended he didn't exist despite the gravity of the situation.

Dream no longer knew whom to blame, or if there was someone to blame, or if there was  _something_  to blame. He was...  _lost_.

He hugged himself, eyes quivering, as he leaned against the fading paper statue behind him. It was cold. Why was the air so cold? Why was he so cold? Why did he feel so numb?

He pulled his knees closer, shrinking himself. The breeze was no longer comfortable, like a gale of despair; the sketchy grass felt like cold stone.

It was all going to disappear...

* * *

 A floating sheet had caught his attention, and in a way, he was glad it did.

He was alone in the hill of gradient grass; their tips were beggining to fade to grey, and Dream was glad they were at the bottom. He simply couldn't look at them and not feel his heart wrench. To see it all dying... he didn't even want to think about it.

Ink had gone off somewhere deep within the timeline,  _threatening_ Dream not to follow him; still without saying a thing, but the fiery glare he gave him as the vials glowed for a second spoke a thousand words. A thousand words that burned like knives.

But seeing the hovering sheet above him was... relieving, to say the least. It felt like an eternity since he saw one of those... and all he thought was to please let it be what he believed it was.

He reached out for it...

He felt a brief chill of disappointment when he was met with a blank piece of paper, but blinked into a crooked smile of uncertainty as he flipped it to see discouraged words written on it.

Good. That was good.

Ink was writing again. He was doing  _something_.

But... that one did anything but give him enough clues as to how to help a friend in serious need.

_'Nothing feels right anymore. To be honest, everything has lost its meaning to me. Any other day, I wouldn't have let this happen, but now I just can't keep going. I'm just... there. That's all. A drop of water in the ocean. If I can't bring myself to create, if I'm unable to defend those I love... then there's no place for me here. I just exist. If I knew things would go this badly... Heh, sometimes... sometimes I just wish I hadn't survived..._

_And, Dream, if you happen to read this... I'm sorry. I just can't. Not anymore. I'm sure you could do a better job at protecting the multiverse than I'd ever wish to. I give up.'_

And he realized Ink had made his choice, lowering the paper and looking up at the sky of a constant sunset coloration.

...

Oh, for the Tree's sake, he was not meant to have such role!

* * *

 "I read that last page."

Same spot, same position... it seemed to be a common thing, to see them next to the fading origami tree, sitting a few feet away from one another. Ink still didn't regard his friend's existence.

"...Ink, I know you're in no condition to risk your life for what you have created, but you can't just give up."

More silence. No movement whatsoever.

"...I know this must be hard for you, but you have to keep trying. I was not meant to be as much of a guardian as you are... If anything,  _I'd_  be the one endangering everyone."

Still nothing, but Dream would not change his mind. It was a fact - he was not a creator, and he would just welcome his brother to bring chaos wherever he went with open arms if he took to role of a protector to all.

He couldn't.

The multiverse held a delicate balance, and everyone had to stick to what they could do, otherwise everything would go south one way or another. Dream couldn't protect every single life out there, much less improve their worlds and expand them.

He was not a creator, but then again, neither was Ink if he kept on downgrading himself like that. And that unbalanced everything to a dangerous point.

No answer was granted to him, anyways.

"Please... I don't want to see all of this fade to nothing..."

Ink seemed to sigh, though Dream barely acknowledged him through closed, quivering eyes.

"What for..."

The caped skeleton looked up, slowly, small hints of surprise on his grieving expression and twinkling eye lights of dull gold. Hearing Ink speak was a mixture between a storm dissipating into a clear sky and rain the desert - unusual, but a heavily awaited moment.

"I don't want to see it disappear either..." His voice, weak, cracked. "B-but... there's nothing I can do... N-nothing..."

Ink wasn't able to prevent that black tear from leaving a fading trail as it rolled down his cheekbone, and he gritted his teeth as more threatened to escape.

He sobbed, "I d-don't want anybody t-to die because of me..." Another sob, and he closed his eyes as he let tears fall down in different shades of grey, even from his cracked eye. "I c-can't... I can't do anything about it..."

He snivelled, curling up into a ball of sobs and sniffles as Dream inched closer with rising worry and empathy as his friend finally broke down. A deeply hurt aura was radiating from him, and truly, it let him share his affliction.

"No, no, this will all be fixed, you'll see..."

"I can't keep p-pretending I don't care... I t-t-thought I'd be able to f-forget about this all just like I forget everything else... but I... I can't..." His body was fading away again, though lightly. "I w-want everything to just... g-go back to how it was b-before... I don't want to disappear... I... I don't want the multiverse to be  _gone_..."

An arm of reassuring magic rested over his back, around his shoulders, "It's alright... Nothing is your fault. I won't let you nor these words vanish, and I'll do everything I can and more to keep the multiverse alive."

Ink sobbed shakily, rubbing the tears off his face; the grey trails soon faded away, and he fought not to keep the tears flowing despite his need to release his sorrow. "M-maybe I don't deserve kindness at this p-point... but... promise me these universes won't die..."

"..."

"I promise."

* * *

 Many steps had to be taken for his promise to keep thriving with vivid life, but Dream was not about to back down. He'd walk through fire if it meant the multiverse would be safe: he had vowed to bring the balance back, and come hell or high water, he  _would_ stick to that promise.

First things first, it was Ink who needed help first.

Error hadn't touched a single timeline since they met in Underfell, and despite the fact that he was trying left and right to find them, Dream would use that as an advantage. It would take him a long time to find his way in, and the universes would be relatively safe from his murderous ways.

That gave Dream a lot of time to restore Ink’s view on everything, though he doubted it would be enough. He didn’t want to see a world he loved so dearly disappear along with him, but he was lost without help.

He would love to find what exactly was causing Ink to wish to give up despite it not being his true intention, but that would require more time. He cared, but he couldn't force himself to do anything about it, and both doubted it was his soulless state that contributed to it.

Dream figured it would be best if he was healed first. It would perhaps lift his spirits; he knew it would mentally destroy him not to be able to draw ever again, and he was giving up on it because of his constant, restrained breathing and motionless arm.

Oh so much easier said than done, because Ink’s own magic had nothing to do against the fractures and Dream’s was not far from achieving the same result.

Neither of the two knew why he couldn’t be healed, even though Dream suspected it was because of his lack of soul. He had never really interacted with a soulless being before, but he was sure of it. After all, the core to monsters’ magic was their souls.

He wasn’t some sort of miracle, just a being full of life and undying positivity. He wouldn’t be able to bring Ink’s soul back, but he would try to restore his despaired emotions.

Patience was the key to every single door out there, even the most secluded of them all.

“How’s your arm going?”

Ink had not long ago begun to try and fix it on his own, and truthfully, he _had_ made some progress, though it wasn’t much.

He could move his fingers with more ease, but his grip was extremely weak. He seemed content with being able to hold a pencil, though.

He could lift his forearm, but it was rotating it what truly hurt – however, nowhere near as much as it did weeks before, according to Ink. That was as far as he had gone in terms of fixing it on his own, but that was a confident step forward.

He was lucky it was only the ulna and not the radius too that had snapped.

“Could be better,” Ink merely replied, flexing his phalanges with care. His attitude was still dull, at least compared to what it had always been like, but he was cooperating.

He _wanted_ to be himself again.

“…do you really think I can be fully healed?”

“You know I’m one to encourage people, but not a liar. If we keep trying, you might heal up sooner or later. If not, you’ll at least feel better. One of those broken bones will eventually fix itself up for sure.”

Ink sighed, looking down as he held his forearm by his side. He needed magic to heal, and whatever little magic he had left was keeping him alive. He needed more strength if he truly wanted any actual progress to be made…

…did anything make him stronger? He tried to remember…  

Doubt. He hated it, but for once, he forced himself to push through that dreaded feeling. He _knew_ he was able to do something that strengthened him, but he couldn’t remember what it was…

He hoped it wasn’t the creation of universes, because that was a defining trait long gone.

No, it had to be something else… Drawing, perhaps? The thought didn’t encourage him. Truth to be told, he never felt like drawing. It was just… not a thing for him. Pastel colors were pretty, though. They settled him down whenever he found himself drowning in anxiety. It was a pity he kept forgetting…

But he remembered it, and he wouldn’t let the thought go until he was sure. He was an artist, wasn’t he? There was a possibility that some sort of drawing gave him strength… but _how_?  

No, that couldn’t be either. Before his paintbrush was destroyed, everything he ever drew was by courtesy of that oversized art tool of his that he _missed so much-_

No, he couldn’t distract himself. Keep thinking…

It definitely had something to do with art… but if it wasn’t his, then who’s? Who else created universes for the massive entanglement of worlds?

…who _made_ those worlds?

He only expanded them, modified them, helped them… but who was actually responsible for their existence?

He was getting closer.

“Ink?”

He had probably zoned out again; it was usual on him. He didn’t know why he kept forgetting everything, sometimes he wouldn’t even know who he was. Heck, he couldn’t even tell each door apart until they opened up when he could recognize them all like someone reciting the alphabet.

At least he still had good memories… but he kept forgetting the most important events he had gone through. He only, and barely, remembered his past, not what made him… _himself._ He continued to link it all to his soul…

“Dream… this may sound stupid, but… who created these universes?”

The caped skeleton blinked slowly, a small head tilt in response to a question he would have never thought he would hear Ink asking. But, he _had_ told him that he kept forgetting everything. Who was he to blame? He probably felt like he had smacked himself by asking just question.

“I’m not sure… you always said that… ‘people from beyond the multiverse’ gifted the world all of these universes. You never referred to them as anything else.”

Yes.

Yes, he remembered. Beings he couldn’t see, but could feel.

The dots were beginning to fit in just perfectly.

Those beings, it was their passion that gave him strength. Their desire to create, their limitless imagination… It was what kept him thriving, what inspired him to aid them. What kept him  _alive_ , along with the universes around him.

…so why could he no longer feel their enthusiasm? If his life was so deeply connected to them, why couldn't he even remember what their joyful wishes felt like?

His smile vanished.

“Have I… have I always been… _connected_ to them?”

Dream shook his head lightly in unknowing disappointment. “I’ve never understood how that works… But you always seemed to be in contact with them, somehow. It’s like you knew what they thought each time they created something.”

Ink stared at him for a few seconds, though his gaze was aimless, before looking down.

It didn’t make sense… If those beings were ‘connected’ to him, in a way, why couldn’t he perceive them? Why did it feel like they just… no longer existed?

…what if… he couldn’t feel them because their passion, their creativity, was connected not to him, but to his soul?

That certainly created a tough barrier between him and his real self.

"...I think I know why this is happening to me..."

"...?"

"I..." He heaved a shaky sigh. "I need my soul back if I want to be myself again..."


	8. Cruel Visions, but a Clear Path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No more... please no more..."
> 
> He had never seen him shaking as badly as he was as he curled up in a trembling ball, nearly crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter gets certainly violent around the middle.

It was really discouraging that Ink had decided it would be better for him if he submerged into the depths of his scrambled mind as opposed to fully explaining himself, but Dream knew they were getting somewhere.

He just needed to remember. Ink knew more than enough, he just forgot everything that made him himself. The question was: how would he remember everything without doubting?

Dream knew isolation had a major role there. After all, Ink had never been one to stand loneliness and silence with a smile. No, he was always hopping through universes, visiting every single monster out there...

He didn't know how to be himself.

The more Ink remembered, the more confidence he seemed to get, albeit for only a moment before he began doubting and losing what little faith he had.

He had yet to tell Dream what was so utterly important about his soul... though he had a vague idea that he didn't want to think obout.

He wondered if his spirit was connected to his lost soul much like his positive emotions; the reason why he had changed so drastically. Dream was clueless when it came to that matter; he himself was soulless, though in a much different way, yet he could feel the multiverse enjoying its existence.

It was a fact. He had to help Ink remember, no matter how long it would take him. It was the only way to help as far as he was concerned, and he would leave his whole trying to heal him idea if the new method seemed to work.

He wanted to ask Ink anything about those mysterious beings in case he could get started right away, but he had drifted off into a peaceful sleep under the little shade the paper tree's branches provided by the time he strolled down the gradient hill.

Peaceful... that was what it looked like anyways.

* * *

_He felt pain. Why did he feel so much pain? It was like he couldn't breathe, but at the same time he could. His head was mercilessly attacked by a vicious headache, and his arms stung like knives when he tried to move them._

_He was lying on the ground. Why was he? There was grass beneath him. Sketchy grass... was that his timeline?_

_His eye fluttered open. It was dark... and it smelled like fire. Were those ashes hovering down before his dazed sight? And wasn't grass supposed to be green as opposed to a discouraging grey?  
_

_With too much effort, he managed to push himself up, feeling numb for a tedious second before recovering his senses, like a cruel daze had shut him down._

_He blinked once, twice, trying to get his one eye to focus._

_The sky was a morbid mixture between black and red, the grass was painted in an ugly grey, there was fire and smoke everywhere with flaming shrapnel falling down like soft snow..._

_His timeline did not look like-_

Crack.

_He violently fell back down with a shriek when something racing through the air at a vertiginous speed collided against his backbone, his spine cracking in response to the brutal impact he hadn't seen coming._

_He could see the red bone disintegrating in mid ar before the world around him spun._

_Hissing, shaking his head, he looked up again. He didn't know where he got the strength to get back up, but he did; he was driven by instinct as he felt incoming danger around him._

_He barely had time to see his chaotic world properly before dozens of strings caught hold of his right arm, throwing him against the ground of hopeless greys._

_He shrieked briefly when his broken arm hit the earth first, but contained himself._

What was happening?

_He frantically looked around him, breathing heavily though the dense smoke and his damaged ribcage didn't make it anywhere near easy for him._

_**"still fighting? come on, just give up already. you're only bringing yourself more pain."** _

_A voice that could very well belong to a demon echoed around him, laughing like a heartless maniac as more strings caught a firm hold of his arm, the broken one that time._

_Though he tried to fight against their brute strength, he was no match for the unbreakable magic as the threads were pulled and tossed him forward, his weak spine hitting the ground; for a moment that lasted an eternity, the sheer pain rendered him completely numb._

_A dark chuckle resonated within the entirety of the destroyed timeline Ink used to call his own, and he could barely see a black silhouette standing mockingly among the fire that consumed his precious creations._

_**"though, to be honest, i don't mind. you're so fragile it's hilarious."** _

_He tried to pull himself away when he saw the strings shooting from his darkened phalanges, slithering their way through the air to ensnare him, but it was to no avail._

_His weak body again collided against the tough, monochromatic ground below him, knocking the wind out of him as he rebounded once at the sheer force of the impact._

_The figure was closer to him when he looked up, weakly, and he could recognize those asymmetrical eyes of murderous intent staring down at him, a sickening grin enjoying his pain._

_**"i wonder what would happen if i broke each and every single one of your bones... do you?"** _

_Panicking, he tried to desperately get up, but a bundle of strings predicted his escape and rendered him motionless, painfully keeping him down despite his panicked struggles and pleads for his life._

_More of them were summoned to tightly wrap around his wrists, a pitiless twist breaking them with ease as Ink tried to writhe free from the straining hold and screamed._

_More came to envelope his broken arm, tightening until the radius, too, was snapped, then slowly twisted with a bloodcurdling crack accompanied by screeches of excruciating pain._

_His other arm went through the same, and one of his femurs was torn clean off while the other, along with the tibia, was twisted out of place; Ink's despaired pleads for mercy only brought him more agony._

_Error chuckled maniacally as the nightmarish threads enveloped his already bound ribcage, tightening slowly but surely, their grip increasing when the feeble ribs began to crackle under the pressure._

_Ink held back his screams as he tried to pull himself away from the strings, but he couldn't move and he found himself shrieking in agony when his ribs finally gave up with sickening cracks._

_His spine, too, felt closer to shattering altogether, and he suddenly felt too numb to even continue screaming._

_Breathless, he let his head fall down, any struggle nonexistent at that point._

_Was he... bleeding? Among the spinning world around him, he was sure he saw red everywhere... Was it all truly happening? He couldn't bleed... No, it didn't matter if it was real or not - the pain was still there._

_Everything was black, blurred, but he thought he could see someone in the distance... a skeleton, too, but not Error... a cape waved behind him..._

_"...please... h-help..."_

_His barely audible pleads went unheard by the figure, who took his warm and reassuring light with him as he disappeared into the distance._

_**"no one is going to help you. you turned your back on your own creations, now it's your time to fend for yourself."** _

_Error cackled, his laugh completely broken as he summoned more strings, walked closer, his entire figure a shadow of jet black except for his grinning face._

_The threads around his broken arms tightened, and Ink could only wince harshly when the strings pierced through his destroyed ribcage like arrows aiming for one's heart._

_The laugh became louder, and louder, and louder..._

* * *

_"Wake up!"_

"NO! MAKE IT STOP! _PLEASE_ MAKE IT STOP!"

"Ink, please, snap out of it!"

His eye didn't open as he flailed desperately, his arm held by Dream as he tried his best to wake him up from whatever terrible nightmare he was having.

That had to be his worst one yet.

"Ink, come on! _Wake up!_ It's _me_!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME! STOP! _STOP IT!_ "

He tried to break free from the firm, yet deeply preoccupied grip like he was being brutally murdered until his eye flashed open for a second, and Dream let go, allowing Ink to scramble back as he began to hyperventilate.

"No more... please no more..."

He had never seen him shaking as badly as he was as he curled up in a trembling ball, nearly crying.

It felt like worry was weighing him down as Dream knelt beside him, and Ink flinched when he felt someone invading his space... but he did nothing to defend himself from what his subconscious considered a threat.

Why was the pain gone?

His eye fluttered open, shaking as badly as his entire body was, and a pinprick sized pupil scanned the area as if he were expecting to see Hell.

Nothing was on fire... there was no smoke... no ashes rained down...

No, it was a trick, it was all a trick...

"Ink...? Ink, please, look at me."

He was avoiding eye contact, and his eye socket eventually narrowed in terror before he clenched it shut and looked away. "Y-y-you didn't h-help me..."

Dream slowly sat down, slightly pulling himself away to let Ink catch his breath.

"Y-you... y-y-you let him k-kill me..."

Every nightmare seemed to hold the same story... but that one had definitely been different, and much worse.

He still believed it was real.

"Ink, that never happen-"

"N-no..." the scarred skeleton nearly wailed, a trembling hand over his cracked eye when he felt the panicked ink leak begin to show signs of life. "It was.. i-it was t-t-too real..."

Dream was afraid of asking him what had happened, because it was more than clear that it had been severely traumatizing. All he was gathering was that he hadn't rescued him while Error killed him... and that was bad enough already.

Ink looked at his arm as if it weren't his own, flexing his slightly stained fingers and blinking in confusion when he could do it with ease.

His ribs were as fine as they could possibly be... they weren't shattered nor pierced... and he could feel his legs which he remembered had been mangled...

He looked around him, slowly, and Dream let him settle in.

"It... w-wasn't real...?"

He wasn't shaking as much, but he was still scared out of his life. "No. It wasn't. And believe me, it'll never be."

Ink looked down, thoughtfully, trying to breathe normally though he couldn't stop trembling. Ice ran down his back as he made sure nothing had been destroyed.

"H-how... how can you b-be so sure..." he nearly whispered, his circular pupil aimless. "It... it almost f-feels like they are... v-visions..."

"Visions...?" Dream repeated, the other giving him a sideways glance.

"It h-happens too many t-times... it's... telling me s-something... warning me..."

"I promise he won't find this place." Dream stated reassuringly, not fearing what he was saying. "And if he somehow does, I will stop him. I would never let you die."

Ink stayed silent for a moment.

"...I turned my back on my own creations..." he mourned, his head down in shame. "T-that's what he told me... W-why would I deserve help... T-that's... that's why you left..."

A hand was placed on his shoulder, "It doesn't matter. I don't blame you. I don't blame anyone. I don't care if someone has done the wrong or right thing, I'm always there to help them."

Not even the reassuring magic that radiated from Dream could get him to smile, and he sighed sadly. "I just want... to help people... I n-need to protect them..."

And suddenly, something crossed Dream's mind when his gaze met the doors.


	9. Determination is Your Answer

"No!"

Dream didn't know the exact type of answer he was expecting to get, but definitely hadn't anticipated such a harsh negation.

It was the only thing left for him to do, even if it had been utterly improvised and given by a nightmare in which he didn't even know what exactly happened.

He'd take anything at that point.

Ink had never gone through a single universe ever since he was nearly killed, excluding the Underfell drama that still had him slightly paranoid. It was only a vague idea, but Dream knew it all had something to do with Ink being isolated from what kept his life going and not his missing soul.

Especially if what he said about those nightmares serving as visions, warnings, was actually true. The recurring one, which had fortunately been long gone for a while, always teased the destruction of Underswap, and he could only wonder if Ink had witnessed a similar case then; the way he looked around the nearly endless timeline was rather telltale.

It was a mere guess, a test, but nothing would ever be accomplished without trying at least once. He didn't know how taking Ink through worlds would help, exactly, but he wasn't about to let go of the idea.

He would have to start off somewhere peaceful, though. Error was more focused on finding his way into the Doodle Sphere than anything else, but it would be crazy, suicidal one would say, to go just anywhere. If they came across Error and a deathly fight didn't take place, then they'd surely be tracked down with ease.

First things first – he would have to get Ink to agree if he wanted to progress at all, and it looked like that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

His offer had been slapped aside with a flat-out denial; there wasn't even a single second of hesitation before the decision was made, and Ink showed zero signs of changing his mind as he averted his gaze from every door that could cross it.

Dream would have immediately tried to convince him otherwise had he not refused with fear, and he again resorted to patience.

"No, I can't- I can't leave this place, I..." Ink was slightly shivering again; the nightmare was still messing with his mind without pity, and the overall stress was weighing him down.

"Hold on, let me explain, alright?" Dream told him with a careful voice, "You know I'd never force you to do something dangerous."

As Ink focused on steadying his shaken breath, the caped skeleton looked around him; he couldn't help but sigh as his gaze met the grass slightly fading to a light grey, the sky darkening. It was saddening to watch...

He tried not to drive his attention into the fading world, and focused on the doors.

"We'll try this only once for now. Yes?"

He patiently awaited the creator's answer, staring at the ground deep in thought, trying to get all the horrors his subconscious was making him experience. He shuddered briefly; he had felt his body being mangled for an eternal second.

"H-he'll find us..."

"Once. Just once. We won't do it again if something goes wrong. Think about it... everything could go back to how it was before."

Ink had slightly looked up at him as he spoke, watching the small yet reassuring smile telling him nothing would go wrong, before glancing back down. Something told Dream he shouldn't expect an answer.

"If something does happen, I'll be right beside you. Take my word for it."

Though eye contact wasn't made, that hopeful twinkle was still keeping the golden pupils shimmering. "You trust me, don't you?"

Dream had no reason to hesitate, though he did grow nervous when the answer took its sweet time to greet him.

"...yes."

A small smile at the weak response, and Dream stood up with a contemplative glance set on the world of worlds around him. Phalanges on his chin, he searched in vain for one in particular, "Which door led to Littletale...?"

* * *

 

"LOOK! I'M YELLOW RIDING HOOD!"

Dream had no choice but to giggle as little Papyrus hurled himself under his cape, holding it against his skull as if it were an oversized hoodie.

Only then the others actually stopped to look at his antics before continuing their endless chase for the sketchy critter Ink had managed to draw after finding himself unable to say no to the army of cutesy eyes.

For once, the smile he bore was honest.

He had been extremely nervous as they searched for the door to Littletale - Dream had decided not to use his own portal to let Ink remember where everything was -, even more so as they looked for the little imps that inhabited the cheerful universe.

Dream hadn't expected it to work as well as it had; it only took a stampede of infant monsters to lead all the fear, anxiety, anticipation Ink carried with himself away, even if it took him a few minutes to settle the loud presence in.

It had been a lucky strike that everyone but Toriel and Asgore so happened to be hanging out at Snowdin.

After that, everything went swimmingly well. Ink had been praised by little Undyne for _"looking super tough with all those scars!"_ , and Frisk told him that they admired him so much even in his state; he wasn't able to deny anything given how steadfast the children were in their beliefs.

Papyrus had also been pretty sweet as he yelled, "CURE SESAME!" while holding his arms in front of him as if he were conjuring a spell, vainly hoping the nonexistent magic he was projecting would heal Ink's arm.

The uplifting company was only the beginning; he mentally thanked the crowd of miniature monsters for giving him the idea to draw whatever creature crossed his mind, because it was thanks to their petition that he realized his drawings could last longer.

It had been at least 10 minutes since he painted the pastel, bunny-like critter for the toddlers to play with and it was still thriving with life, having as much fun as its chasers were as it hopped across the snow.

"They haven't lasted this long since forever..." Ink commented quietly, mostly to himself though Dream gave him a sideways glance as curious little Papyrus sat beside him.

"They?" Dream inquired; only then had Ink realized he never told him about his weakened magic when it came to keep his drawings alive, but what truly mattered was that it was coming back.

He could really feel that burst of inner happiness taking his gnawing doubts and worries away. "The drawings. They used to last a few minutes only..."

Dream blinked, glancing back at the joyous children.

He smiled. "See? It's working."

He received another smile back; small, almost thoughtful, but one that let him know that Ink truly appreciated what he was doing to help him.

"Maybe it is... I do feel... I don't know, better. In every way."

That had to be it.

Perhaps his soul did have something to do with the problem, but Dream knew that he was practically holding the solution at that point. Ink was lost. Blocked. Confused. So much time without company, without helping those around him, had made him forget how full of life the multiverse was and how much he depended on those worlds.

He was sure of it; he could almost bet his life on it: all he needed was to do what he had always done. That could even heal him; after all, Ink needed magic to make his lively drawings persist. That meant he was slowly growing stronger.

It would need time for him to fully recover, that was for sure, but Dream knew he had chosen the right path and that Ink was willing to go through it; he could feel it, he didn't want to lose himself - he wanted to be the same Ink everyone had gotten to know.

Just seeing him honestly happy was a huge step forward; for both of them.

"I WISH I COULD DO THAT TOO!" Papyrus chimed in, "THE DRAWING THINGIE! IMAGINE HOW COOL I WOULD BE IF I COULD GIVE MY FRIENDS WHAT THEY WANTED ALL THE TIME!"

Dream giggled, "Hey, you keep hoping. It's how certain people go as far as they do." He looked up at Ink, a reassuring smile crossing his face, and he again smiled back.

Hoping, dreaming, believing, it was what Ink had always done, what he had lost and was slowly getting back through help from a friend who was not willing to let depression take him away from the light that kept him moving.

And he knew how much he cared.

It was a pity that the strange, distant buzzing that Ink faintly recognized had to shatter the peace and glee that flooded the timeline.

The other monsters were just far enough to let them hear the eerie noise with clarity, though it promptly stopped.

"You heard that too, right?" Dream looked at Ink; he seemed to have frozen for a few seconds before he took slowly stood up and took a step back, looking behind him where a grove of childishly decorated pines stood happily.

"Hide." he merely said, voice rushed as he continued to back down, single eye planted on the distance before him.

"Hide- from what, what was that noi-"

"Take Papyrus and hide!"

Before Dream could further object, the other skeleton had already gone into the treeline, and with anxiety slowly building up around him, he picked the smaller skeleton up and followed.

"OH, ARE WE PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK?" Papyrus cheerfully asked, though he was softly hushed as Dream crouched next to Ink, both staring at the distance through the small clearings between branches and leaves.

"Ink, what did you-"

"It's him..."

And thus the caped skeleton was crushed by a wave of fear, and all he could do was keep a panicked sight on the oblivious infants.

Ink seemed to have noted his profuse worry, "I know h-he won't hurt this universe yet... I know what he's after and what he's not... H-he's looking for _us_..."

Dream glanced at him, an inscrutable mix of fear and confusion flooding his eyes of gold. "But... How did he know?"

"...the portal."

Before anything else could be said, both were silenced by the figure of black and red that sharply contrasted against the white of the snow, asymmetrical eyes looking intently for something.

Error stopped, nonchalant, as he watched the little imps in the distance playing around with something that did not belong in that timeline.

"HEY, WHO IS-"

The curious little skeleton was quickly hushed again by Dream, though quietly as to not drive Error's attention towards them; he seemed more focused on catching the fantasy creature that had the universe's inhabitants so focused as it hopped towards him.

The small monsters halted to a stop, some crashing into one another as fierce strings caught their sketchy friend, promptly crushed into sparkling dust after a deadpan glare. **"tsk, tsk, tsk. still messing with everything i see."** the skeleton murmured, ignoring the frustrated children in front of him.

"H-hey! Why'd you do that? We were, um, k-kinda playing with the bunny!" little Alphys exclaimed, disappointment making its way through her nervous voice.

She shrunk when she was menacingly glared at, whimpering her way behind Undyne.

Error frowned at the harmless bunch of toddlers that could barely reach the height of his knee, hands back in his pockets as he blinked, unimpressed.

The only reason he would rarely mess with Littletale was because it was pitiful. A waste of time.

**"oh i'm so sorry."** he taunted, earning a pout from the small fish girl. **"so... where exactly did this 'bunny' come from?"**

Ink thought his entire world had fallen on top of him as he froze, breathing slowly increasing, and he barely noticed Dream shaking his head at the bunch in a desperate attempt to stop them from letting that glitch know of their presence; Papyrus, only imagining what was happening, mirrored him.

The younger Sans seemed to have taken the hint; from where he was standing, the other three were slightly more visible. He was quick to realize that something was wrong, and even though he had no idea of what, he figured it had something to do with the ominous, much larger skeleton in front of them.

"we dunno." he shrugged. "we just saw it around and chased it. i mean, duh."

Frisk briefly shook their head in confusion, "But didn't the other you draw-", before being silenced by a nervous shoulder prod. The human failed to understand what was going on, but tagged along anyways; Dream heaved a sigh of relief though Ink was still fearing for basically everything.

Error glared at the small monsters for a few seconds, his frown one of disbelief. **"of course."** he said blankly, eyes cautiously scanning the area around him. **"and nobody came here. right?"**

Alphys seemed at the edge of saying something, but Sans stopped her with a deadpan - and rather smug -, "nah", and a few of the kids looked at each other in confusion; only the fact that the other Sans looked so unfriendly told them that he wasn't the guy they wanted to mess around with.

A couple more seconds of staring, disbelieved, before Error simply sighed. What was he expecting to get from a bunch of children anyways? He knew it would be pointless; he had been expecting to catch his true targets by surprise, not begin an aimless interrogation.  **"whatever you say. you're lucky i'm not in the mood to look around for anybody."**

He turned around, though he was stopped by an indignant Undyne as she held a laughable, blunt spear at him as if she were pointing a flaming sword at him; heck, even a thumbtack was sharper than that. "Hey, you made us lose our friend, and you ain't leave like that, ya prick!"

To say he was unimpressed was an understatement as Error snickered. **"well, ain't that ferocious."**

Undyne growled, overhearing Frisk yell, "Yeah, you go get him!", though she was silenced when a few strings held the pitiful tip of the spear and easily lifted her up to eye level.

She blinked, eye wide. "Oh wow, you're strong!" she exclaimed, clearly astonished, but Error remained expressionless.

**"get lost."**

He threw the young warrior behind him as if she were nothing but a ragdoll; Alphys didn't have as much fun as her friend did in mid-air when she landed on top of her after she tried to catch her.

A portal materialized in front of Error, but he didn't leave before glancing behind his shoulder.

Soon enough.

And really, nothing other than pure and utter relief could be felt as he stepped through the broken gap to never go back there; Undyne seemed more concerned about the fact that she had been completely ignored, but the brief flight had been enough for her.

Another profuse sigh from Dream, and Papyrus looked at him with curious eyes as he set him down. The caped skeleton remained calm despite the tension; Ink, by the other hand, was heavily distraught.

Dream did a double take on him, seeing the fearful circle of dull purple define the shape of his one pupil. "You okay...? Good thing he didn't hurt-"

" _Get me out of here."_

And Dream just knew that Ink was not about to change his mind about it.

Papyrus exchanged glances between the two, "I'M A BIT CONFUSED. WHO WAS THE SPOOKY SANS?"

"Believe me, not someone you want to be friends with," Dream told him quietly. "But... don't worry, he won't come back here. As for us... we'd better leave, alright?"

"AWW, DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO?" the miniature skeleton pouted, eyes so sweet it was hard to give him any type of negative answer.

Dream gave Ink a brief glance. "I'm afraid so... long story. But we'll be back, yes?"

The smaller skeleton fidgeted a little in disappointment, before smiling widely. "OKIE DOKIE!"

The glimmering doppelganger of his brother nodded in approval as the others, curious, came over with nothing but wonder as to what had happened.

"alrightie, what was that all about?" Sans inquired; Dream was glad Ink seemed to slowly calm down, it didn't feel right to leave the little guys without any sort of explanation about the danger they had obliviously faced.

"Look, let's take this seriously." Dream told them, his tone firm albeit soft; if what Ink said was true, and given Error's lack of interest for Littletale's destruction, the childish timeline was relatively safe, though nobody appreciated a lie - he was not at all sure that Error wouldn't come back.

"That Sans does not want to be friends with you. If you see him again, please promise me you won't go anywhere near him." He glanced down at Undyne, "Not even you."

"But he was so friggin' rude!" the young warrior retorted, stomping her foot on the thick snow. However, she merely crossed her arms in indignation when Dream responded with a firm look.

"Can I count on you?"

The small monsters regarded each other for a few seconds, before they all nodded simultaneously - Papyrus decided to fervently salute instead.

Dream responded to them with a smile before a swing from his staff created a gap, succeeding when it came to awe the youngsters.

Keeping the portal up became worrisome; he just wished Error didn't notice it or simply ignored it.

Ink kept his gaze monotonous, planted on the distance, until he heard the swirling of the portal; even then, he only regarded it with a sideways glance. Dream could tell he was, not scared, but heavily afflicted.

It really was discouraging not to be able to help when someone was in such danger.

Ink sighed quietly, tiredly, "I'm sorry." He made to step towards the portal, though he stopped for a moment before sadly glancing at the little monsters.

"It's all my fault."

* * *

 

It was a disappointment. Everything was.

Dream hadn't counted on Error being able to track portals down; it was nothing but luck that he hadn't come back as he and Ink returned to the fading timeline.

Damn it... they were so close.

And for once, they were both equally lost, submerged in a thoughtful silence that only a slight clicking as Dream tapped the staff against his palm, pondering, shattered.

There was nothing else to do. They could think whatever they wanted to, but the solution wouldn't change. They didn't need a soul, or those voices outside of the multiverse that remained silent; it was pointless, they needed to travel through the entanglement of words.

If it wasn't for that spiteful glitch... none of that would have even happened. And even though Ink was at fault, too, for taking his courage too far - twice -, it was no excuse for the other to endanger countless lives without a single speck of remorse.

Just thinking about it made Dream sick, especially when he remembered that the only reason Ink was yet again questioning everything was because of Error as well.

Damn the day the multiverse decided he should exist.

The rhythmic tapping was cut short as Dream held the starry tip of the staff, heaving an irate sigh as he looked down.

What was he to do? He had a single path to go through, but he wouldn't be the one to decide what awaited at the end of it. To continue traveling through universes had two endings: one, it all worked swimmingly well and the balance was restored; or two, it all went terribly wrong and one of the two, or even both, worst case scenario, could end up dead.

He could follow the clear way, but he couldn't predict what he would find. That was the problem.

Besides, he had to get Ink to change his mind. He knew he wasn't truly willing to go back to the silence of isolation, but his mind was a scramble none of the two could understand.

He, too, was lost. Infuriated. Confused. Disappointed. He had always managed to stay clear out of those dreaded emotions' way, but he didn't know what to do anymore.

He wanted to be back. To be himself. To enjoy life and make it better for those he cared for.

But, at the same time, he didn't want to die. He felt like smacking himself for being stupid enough to let Error know that he had survived - he would have had a safer path to his real self then.

He still didn't know what had gotten into him back then. Perhaps protecting the multiverse held more importance to him than he thought it did? Before everything went south, he had stopped Error countless times, but he had never snapped as badly as he had even when witnessing a timeline at the verge of destruction.

Or, something was telling him not to give up. The same Determination that had helped him survive, perhaps? There was a tugging telling him that he was close to something. That he couldn't leave everything aside.

He could fix his mistake.

He gave the garden of doors a spirited stare, and Dream was certainly surprised to see a shape he had been too much without seeing within his eye socket; that reassuring star of golden glitter.

"I've made up my mind."

To say the least, he had gotten a firm hold on the other skeleton's attention.

"I'm not giving up just yet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We needed some fluff after last chapter. :'3
> 
> Sorry if this chapter feels lackluster description-wise. I wasn't getting much inspiration. ;(


	10. The Disturbance of Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was not a weakling. He was a spirited artist, a creator, a friend, and a bit of a jerk.
> 
> And he was willing to let that personality he himself loved show again.
> 
> He wondered what he would be doing at that point if Dream had never helped him…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holly molly I wasn't expecting this chapter to be so long. 
> 
> Lesson learned: montages are easy to imagine, not to write.

Of course!

He wasn't 100% sure it would work, but the idea had been so sudden yet so bright that Dream wasn't able to prevent himself from quite literally propelling into standing.

"I know how we can work this out!"

Ink's interest in whatever genius plan the other skeleton had gotten didn't show until a few seconds passed by; he hadn't expected the contemplative silence that had casted between the two to be shattered by such euphoria without warning.

"Error knows when we're using a portal... but what if we used more than one at the same time? He wouldn't know where to look and we would have less chances of stumbling upon him."

That was certainly something, though Ink seemed loose on details despite the enthusiastic smile the other sported. "You mean... create different gaps, but use only one of them?"

"That indeed. It's dangerous for me to use so much magic on them, but that is where the doors come in. I will work on the portal we'll use, while yours will serve as distractions."

Interesting, to say the least. Almost perfect, even. Risks were still lurking, yes, but that was definitely much safer than travelling to and fro through the multiverse while a psychopathic skeleton was hunting them down.

It  _was_  a good idea… if only it was completely safe…

No. He had to trust.

They  _would_  be careful. Dream had told him before; he would never force him to do something dangerous, nor would he ever do something that had more chances of both of them ending up dead than helping them.

He was doing everything he could to keep them both safe. And if the last-minute plan meant he would be himself again, then come hell or high water, Ink was willing to take the reduced risk of encountering certain, unwelcomed presence.

It was all he wanted. He was tired of being something he was not. He was close, he could feel it.

He was smiling before he even realized, letting that praised feeling of happiness and gleeful anticipation surround him and take away all the doubting for once. Again after so long, he felt… like he  _could_ do something. Like his existence mattered and wasn't there to watch over a world that was fading along with him.

"That's... that could actually work." he commented in wonder, before frowning. "But... the portals are only visible if someone is stepping through the doors... If we can't do it, who is going to open them?"

Ink hated to be a party crasher. He truly did, especially in such situation, but what they were doing was dangerous and they had to cover everything up before proceeding if they wanted to stay safe throughout.

Dream crossed his arms, thoughtful; he seemed disappointed about not having thought of that little detail beforehand. Not anywhere near as disappointed as Ink was, however.

Imagination. He needed imagination. Inspiration. Ideas. Where were they? Where were all those improvisations and backup plans that had always come to him like metal to a magnet? He had so long believed that he no longer needed them…

No, he couldn't have fully lost them.

Think... He had to think... He couldn't think like someone who had given up – he had to think like Ink. What would a feisty artist do?

Drawing would definitely be in the list, given his mindset that felt as colorless as his lost spirit, but that was not the time to-

Hold on. Drawing...

The drawings! They were alive! They could aid them!

Ink nearly jumped to his feet as the valuable idea crossed his mind, the teardrop flickering into that usual star that seemed to be coming back more often than ever; he could only hope that, out of everything, he wouldn't forget  _that_  before even letting it out.

"I... I think I know what we can do," he said, albeit weakly, but he was still smiling with emotions of heartfelt joy he thought he had forever lost. "I can get a few drawings to leave the portals open while we slip through. I… don't know how long they can last, but definitely enough."

Enthusiasm; that was what Dream had always been hoping to see in him since he first saw his pitiful state. Not a hopeless aura, a feeling of being worthless; the same passion he had always carried with himself, even if it lasted for only a small moment.

Ink was somewhat hesitant, dubious, but he  _wanted_ Dream's plan to work.

"We've got it, then!" Dream proclaimed merrily.

Truly, he couldn't have wished for a better start; especially after the little incident that Ink seemed to be gladly ignoring.

“Oh, and, Dream? …he can tell where your portals connect to, but he can’t tell where mine come from and only where they lead. We’ll have to be fast.”

“Got it.”

* * *

"I think I called that one... 'The Starry Star'. Or... something along those lines."

Both laughed as they finally managed to oversee the figure of a star shaped constellation amongst the sprinkled black sky of Outertale. Ink had added those strange shapes there out of boredom long ago; everyone in the timeline still adored them.

He missed the times back when he saw every single thing as a canvas waiting to be filled.

He had done so much for many universes, and he and Dream had established that to be their first goal: to have Ink remember his little antics across the multiverse and to even continue adding stuff to the scrambled collection, though they hadn't gotten that far yet.

Just looking for those doodles seemed to be enough, anyways; Ink truly was willing to tag along and remember all those pranks and additions he had left throughout his endless strolls. They were all the happiness he had left, but it was so great, so powerful, that he could again see color in his life.

It felt like seeing him smile and laugh was something that had last happened decades ago. It was so comforting to see him honestly happy after what he had been through.

Outertale had been the first choice for being one of, if not the most peaceful universe out there. Simple sketches kept three portals to Altertale, Storyshift and Demitale open, and so far, Outertale hadn't been Error's first choice if he had actually noticed the presence of the gaps. Strangely enough, too, because it was one of his few exceptions – fact that had stopped Ink via heavy hesitation, before he valiantly fought against his fears.

The two kept their eyes peeled despite the serenity of the universe, though; in Outertale, and any other place they decided to visit. They were always mindful of not staying straight in the open, of not having too much noise around them, and Dream kept himself ready, staff always by his side, in case they had to make a hasty escape.

Ink was still nervous despite everything, but definitely not enough to leave the plan aside. Worry was clearly reflected through his pupil, that had changed to a dubious rhombus as opposed to the discouraging teardrop that had followed him for so long, but he didn't feel as oppressed as he had been before.

For once, his inner trauma allowed him to enjoy his precarious life and drive his paranoid thoughts away.

"What about the one next to it?" Dream asked, eyes fixed on what seemed to be a palette drawn by twinkling stars of varying sizes. "Something tells me it may be yours too," he playfully teased; humor, too, was something Ink appeared to miss.

And he wasn't ignored that time.

"Heh, what made you think of that?" the other skeleton replied, equally as mockingly. Even though that saddened trail was still following his voice, Dream could again note his playful sarcasm – it was what he was mostly known for.

"Oh, I don't know... maybe the fact that I have a great artist right next to me."

* * *

"Well, that was... 'unintentional'. Maybe."

Dream gave a little giggle as he threw another pebble at the rainbow colored lake; each time it splashed through the water, the color of the stone would change until it was swallowed by the painted liquid as if it were flashing.

Storyshift had been the next, with five portals up back in the Doodle Sphere. Yet another peaceful place to be, and the fact that certain glitch considered it to be somewhat interesting led to high chances of it being the last Error would think of checking – if he  _was_ doing so, anyways.

It was also one of the universes with less activity, especially around Waterfall. Ink still didn’t feel comfortable around other monsters, and Littletale had been an exception he was glad of having made.

It had been troublesome for Ink to remember that one prank that still remained there. It was supposed to serve as a temporal little joke for Toriel after the creator had overheard her mention that she liked to see that enigmatic place clean. Little jerk he was back then, he decided to make the water slightly more... cheerful.

He did try to remove the paint after laughing at the goat monster's reaction... too bad, but at least, that part of Waterfall would forever remain prettier. For some people, at least.

He personally loved it, and Dream loved its backstory. It served as a helpful reminder of who he used to be, too.

The memory brought a smile to him, though it would have been better if Ink hadn't remembered that such colorful mess existed by courtesy of his lost paintbrush... His smile had vanished for a moment, but he wasn't about to let that detail ruin his progress.

He had to let go of the past. It had weighed him down enough.

"Wonder if I'll be able to do something like this again... I've always had so much fun with these pranks."

Pranks did seem like a tempting idea… and he was in need of interaction with others, even if he simply watched them.

* * *

It was hard to contain their laughter. They did feel somewhat bad, but who could blame them? Those reactions were worthy of an award, and the irritable universe was in need of humor even if its hostile inhabitants would never appreciate it.

It hadn't taken too long for Ink to remember that he would always sneak his way into Underfell to pull little, mostly harmless pranks on its residents when he was out of ideas; especially the two skeletons.

Instead of Underfell, though, Ink had decided to go to Swapfell as he would rather avoid places in which he felt he wasn't safe, comfortable. Places that didn't hold the best of memories, and that were a newfound target by that psychopathic and broken skeleton.

He'd get there eventually, but he preferred not to yet. Ink believed it would be better for him if he kept any thoughts that made him nervous aside until he felt they wouldn't bother him anymore. It made him feel… free, and not afraid of panicking at each memory that crossed his mind.

For once, he could do nothing but smile.

Both he and Dream had managed to set up that same, simple prank Ink couldn't bring himself to forget after all the laughter attacks he had gotten with it until it was time for him to leave the universe before a couple of very angry monsters decided to place the rightful blame on him.

He had never tried it in Swapfell, and he truly should have earlier.

Their urge to laugh behind the snowy bushes as they observed had started as soon as the grouchy doppelganger of Sans quite literally kicked the door to his house open – great time for a prank; the guy had been having a bad day –, then increased when the paint bucket fell straight on top of his head, covering the battle body of red and black in a colorful mess.

It was way too hard not to at least snicker as Sans stood still for a few seconds, hands curling into enraged fists before he pretty much exploded, his white skull a mess of mixed paint as he screamed his nonexistent lungs out and let the world know of his colorful language – never better said.

Dream was the first to suggest leaving between suppressed laughter when a confused Papyrus showed up just to get a snowball thrown at his face; with the empty bucket following afterwards, before he was chased all over the silent town by his seething brother.

Feeling bad had never felt so good.

* * *

"Is that so?"

"Yes... I definitely can breathe better."

And the progress began feeling like a miracle, because Ink could bet his life that his cracked ribs had somehow healed up completely. He could take deep breaths without fear, without difficulty. His chest no longer ached if he tried to breathe normally.

...perhaps Dream's solution was working out better than any of the two had ever expected it to. Feeling like himself, even if it was for only a moment, brought memories back. Brought his strength back. Brought his magic back.

He had a chance. A bright chance gladly waiting for him.

And suddenly, the long path felt like a walk in the park.

* * *

"Almost got it..."

He paused as the pencil tapped against the unfinished sketch of what seemed to be a landscape, though lackluster in details as Ink tried to find the last bits of inspiration for it.

He had drawn a few trees here and there, a lake, a couple of clouds... it felt empty, still, but was definitely more than he could have ever managed to muster up without Dream's help. He would have probably given up on it at that point, but he was determined to finish a single drawing for the first time in months.

Visiting universes was his second favorite thing to do, right behind drawing. One had gone perfectly well; he just needed that one to work just as swimmingly… if only things could be as easy as they were said.

Dream observed carefully behind the pondering artist, arms crossed as he leaned against the paper tree, a smile crossing his face as he waited for the other to be enveloped by that same imagination that was slowly coming back to him.

Speaking of the tree, he was sure a few of the sketches and mosaics that had vanished were slowly coming back. That, or they were in the middle of fading, but he was sure those had disappeared before.

Ink and the timeline were connected. It had to be slowly coming back to life. And if it wasn’t yet, then it had to be at the verge.

"I... have no ideas."

Ink sighed in disappointment as he held the notebook limply; he was again able to hold slightly heavier objects with his fractured arm, but he, for once, was more concerned about the unfinished doodle than his own wellbeing.

Perhaps it felt corny, but it meant the world to him.

Dream frowned, before giving him a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. We're getting close."

After all, that had been the first try. Going to a single universe had barely affected him. They just had to keep going; they were close indeed.

* * *

"And then you told them to quit being so irritable via a graffiti."

Ink tried fervently to remember such event that he had apparently loved back then, watching the silent town of Underfell's Snowdin from a prudent distance.

He was fervently ignoring the fact that he was in the exact same setting those nightmares put him in; it had been his own choice to go there, even with Dream’s irresolution about it. It wasn’t time to think about those torturous visions. It wasn’t the time to think about his last time in Underfell. It was time to forget it all.

And Dream had only then remembered that one day in which the both of them had gotten a good laugh.

Ink was half there, but couldn't quite place the scenario. Dream did, though; he had been there, watching as a mischievous Ink daubed a hasty graffiti all over the skeletons' house, one that said,  _"Be happy someone cares about you enough to prank you!"_  in stylized letters of varying reds and oranges.

He had been strolling through the multiverse that day, and only saw the snickering artist finish the indirect insult before he disappeared from sight and watched as Papyrus raged his life out when he came back.

"Can't really remember it…" Ink mused; he wished Papyrus hadn't made his brother clean his little antics up, otherwise he would have actually laughed. "Must have been a great one, though."

"Hey, don't worry. It's been a long time. Sooner or later, you'll remember it. That was one of your favorites."

* * *

"Please tell me my eye really  _is_ open and I'm not going crazy…"

"It… it is!"

That had been one of the happiest days in the Doodle Sphere for sure. Only less than an hour after coming back from yet another stroll through Littletale, and Ink suddenly ran over to Dream looking around him as if he had opened his eyes for the first time in a lifetime.

His cracked eye was half open; with no pupil to be seen among the sea of black, but Ink seemed able to see through it, even if barely. He could blink with both eyes. It felt strange, though not as strange as feeling like his other eye simply wasn't there. His vision was still weak, but he knew he could see again.

And he knew how brightly he was smiling.

Dream chortled, "How did that happen?"

"I- I don't know! I was just writing and suddenly… I could see with my other eye again!"

_“Right now, I can barely remember what it felt like to be hopeless. And this has to be the first time in months I’ve ever been happy to forget something. The amount of help Dream is giving me is… unbelievable. And even if I’m just halfway through fixing myself, I already feel like the happiest skeleton in the multiverse._

_Everything that had disappeared is coming back. The tree looks like a labyrinth again, heh. And me? I’ve been long enough without those awful visions and my arm is getting better. Really, I hardly need anything else right now._

_Is it too soon to let out the biggest thank you that has ever existed?”_

* * *

"Hold on… Hold on…"

The spirals of black and white spun above Ink, waiting to be unleashed as the creator attempted to aim at a few floating pieces of papers he had intentionally released to serve as targets.

Ever since he began to heal on his own, he had felt stronger. Which type of stronger, he didn't know, but if it meant he could get his real powers back, then he was willing to put his slowly increasing magic to work on his defense. He no longer found drawing as a tedious activity, but without the power to truly create, he felt empty.

"Hey… this is not as tiresome as last time I used it." Ink pointed out, noting how the rather heavy usage of magic hadn't exhausted him yet; last time, when he had nearly wiped Outertale out of existence, he could barely even stand after the mindless outburst.

Now, summoning the acidic attack and keeping it up without actually using it was a piece of cake. Only so far, at least, but Ink was content as long as he felt he was slowly gaining control over what he could do.

"That's good." Dream nodded. "See if hitting the papers changes anything."

To say the least, Ink was somewhat hesitant, worried that using his magic like that could weaken him, but not willing to give up. All in all, he had to learn how to properly control that ability; it was a pity that his remaining powers were harmful, but that would at least help him defend himself against Error if they came across him more efficiently.

He was sure that, with a little more time, he would regain the power to create. Even without his paintbrush. For once, he didn’t believe that his lost tool was the only reason he had been able to use magic. It couldn’t be.

He swept his good arm in front of him, hand splayed towards the papers twirling in the air. Two ink projectiles were quick to propel from the swirling spirals, their aim perfect as they disintegrated a couple of sheets as soon as contact was made with brief hisses.

It was easier to manipulate, even if he had barely ever used it.

"Great," came an awed compliment from the other skeleton. He had never seen Ink use it while he was watching, but he did tell him about the close call with Outertale. Judging by how confident he looked as the spirals slowly began to retreat into the greyscale of vials, Dream could tell that Ink held more control over that attack.

Another step forward. Learning control over one's abilities granted them with confidence over themselves.

"That went well... I'm... not even tired." Ink commented, almost in shock. That had definitely been easier than he thought it would have been... and he wasn't about to complain at all.

Dream did a double take at him, and he seemed to have frozen as he blinked once.

"Wait..." He smiled. "The vials..."

It seemed like he could only feel curiosity as he looked at himself.

One of the vials had replaced its black color by its true, yellow one.

* * *

Everything simply... changed.

Half of his vials had recovered their color, their cheerfulness, after countless visits to nearly every universe in existence. Ink had done everything he had ever been capable of: repainted areas, added a few, personal details here and there, pranked people, gave them ideas… heck, he even helped the children of Littletale build a giant snowman.

His arm, too, was so much better. The ulna was still slightly cracked, but he could freely rotate his forearm without any pain whatsoever. His eye hadn't progressed much, aside from the fact that his other pupil had reappeared, but he was content as long as he could see through both of them.

And his timeline, his timeline was slowly but surely coming back to life, beginning to sparkle as brightly as his hopes were as he regained his most valuable feelings, mindsets and abilities. The branches of the origami tree were crowded by papers – most of which were Ink’s loose pages from his little diary –, and not a single speck of grass was dyed in grey.

He didn't need anything else.

He had smiled. Laughed. Saw life as the same, joyful gift he had always seen it as. He could feel those beings again. He could sense their enthusiasm, their hopes. He could bring drawings to life without boundaries.

He could be himself.

Almost.

A part of him was still afraid, even if he had only encountered Error once throughout his journey through a multiverse he was determined to remember; just a couple of days ago as he and Dream peacefully strolled through Outertale – he never saw them before they retreated.

That had been the day in which that dreaded nightmare, that vision, came back after so long, but Ink never let himself panic over it even if startled confusion hit him like a train when he woke up – on his own.

He was fervently fighting to keep that depressed side of himself away. He couldn't yet create anything aside from those sketches that had aided him so much, but he could see his past as clearly as if it had all happened yesterday and had a true friend by his side. He was so close. He couldn’t let some hypothetical visions slow him down.

He was not a weakling. He was a spirited artist, a creator, a friend, and a bit of a jerk.

And he was willing to let that personality he himself loved show again.

He wondered what he would be doing at that point if Dream had never helped him…

It was a powerful feeling, not to be constantly doubting and questioning life. The feeling of being what he liked to be. Of doing what he liked to do. He could barely remember back when his discouraged self loathed the thought of company, trusted nobody; he no longer wanted to be alone.

Speaking of...

"Hey, uh, Ink? Would you... mind if I left for a moment?"

Said skeleton was so focused on the same drawing he had almost given up on that he hadn't paid attention until the word 'left' turned his own little world upside down.

Dream was clearly hesitant; he had never left Ink alone in fear anything happened, and even if he was closer to his own persona than to that dull, fearful attitude, he didn't feel like it was a safe idea to leave him alone.

But it held great importance to him to do so.

Ink blinked, "Leave where?"

"I really should check up on my own world. It feels like I haven't been there in forever... I won't stay for long, I just want to make sure everything is… as fine as it can possibly be."

Dream had told Ink that it would better for him if he didn't visit his world back when he asked him. It was rather dangerous, and the caped skeleton would rather not put the both of them in a situation that could end really badly.

After all, he too had a psychopathic skeleton to worry about.

Dream nervously twirled the staff in his hands. The Doodle Sphere was isolated enough from everything to be considered one of the most secure places in the multiverse, but leaving Ink on his own just left him with a bitter feeling of gnawing uncertainty. "Is that alright with you?"

Ink appeared to over think his answer, though he told himself to be empathetic.

Dream had stayed beside him for months, doing everything he could to keep him safe and help him without second thoughts. He had risked his life for him, never stopped until everything began to flow back into place.

Dreamtale meant the world to him; quite literally, and Ink wouldn't keep him away from his home. A few minutes or even a few hours had never hurt anybody, had they?

"Of course. I'll be fine... it's not like anyone but you can come in here."

For once, the dubious of the two was Dream. "...are you _really_ sure?"

He had seen that speck of hesitation cross Ink's pupils for a second, before he nodded, and even showed a small, sly smirk. "Yes... what are you, my babysitter?"

Both giggled; to see Ink's sarcasm and mocking attitude flow back to life truly was an encouraging feeling. "Alright, alright." Dream opened the portal behind him, though he waited before stepping through. "I'll try to be back as soon as I can."

"Hey, it's your universe. I know things aren’t going all that well for you. Stay for as long as you need, okay?" A reassuring smile, "You've done more than enough for me. Don't worry."

A small sigh in response; content, yet slightly preoccupied. "Okay, I'll leave now... If it takes me a little to come back, don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

* * *

  **"it's a really confusing world, ain't it?"**

The soul was spun around the red phalange like a yo-yo, a mere toy, with absolutely zero regard for its pending life.

**"but at the end of the day, you're nothing but a pathetic little freak. what would you know?"** Error ceased the spinning of the glowing heart, letting it hang loosely from the strings coiled around his finger, grinning at it.

Something strange had been happening during the past few weeks. Up to six portals began showing up, one after the other, always at the same time. At first, he attempted to find the funny guy who had decided the multiverse would be their new playground, but eventually gave up on it. It was a waste of time to aimlessly go to and fro; he'd find them when the time was right.

He questioned their identity to be Ink... The possibilities were scarce; the weakling could be killed by a fly. But who else would summon so many portals? That nosy friend of his, Dream, had no reason to travel so irregularly, or even travel at all. That damn multicolor parasite could be responsible, too.

No one else really could summon those gaps.

He looked up into the sea of threads casted in shadow that constituted the ceiling of the anti-void when he caught something through the corner of his eye, and his eye sockets of crimson narrowed in annoyance. A yellow glow akin to that of a star shimmered between the strings.

Yet another portal... how original.

However, that one was rather... _interesting._

All of them so far had appeared between universes, but that one was far apart, separated from the rest like the black sheep. It almost felt like it didn't belong there; it was practically outside of the multiverse's boundaries.

It was even more interesting that said tiny ball of light was connected to Dreamtale.

The bound heart was slowly and erratically spun like a lifeless ragdoll as Error padded forward without hurry, a keen eye planted on that eerie disturbance. **“what do you know… isn’t that interesting?”**

A portal he had never noticed before had appeared outside of the multiverse; it led to Dreamtale; and it seemed to hold a... rather powerful glow, as if an uncanny amount of anomalies was practically crowding it.

All the dots connected. It was either the Omega Timeline... or certain virus' cozy universe. And given the worrisome amount of strength it bore, he had a powerful feeling that he had found that one anomaly cluster he had been hunting down for so long. It only made sense.

And he grinned, chuckled.

**"gotcha."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We may or may not be getting close to the end. :o


	11. Grieving Obliteration

All five known senses could detect the enjoyable peace across the Doodle Sphere, bathing everything with a comforting feeling of safety and serenity.

Few times had Ink been able to stay completely calm, especially on his own. He didn't want to make himself believe he had anything to worry about; he simply let the peacefulness around him flow with a content smile.

There was a soft breeze. The gentle noise of the tree's paper leaves as they danced with the peaceful air was in no way annoying; it was soothing, as a matter of fact. Everything was.

The little chirps of the origami bird flicking its geometrical wings next to Ink felt like a lullaby, made the creator go back in time. He remembered that poor, sketchy canary he had once created, so dull and monotonous but with a will to leave, and could only compare it to the cheerful one he had just finished.

Paper folding was a great way to keep his creativity thriving. He had finished that landscape a few minutes ago, and was surprised when his subconscious decided that it wasn't enough. That need to create and aid life, it was slowly increasing.

It felt great.

Ink allowed the paper bird to hop on his hand, letting it fly freely after it gave him a loving tweet. He envisioned himself as the little critter; fearless, willing to take on the world and leave its troubles aside.

He peacefully leaned against the tree, again crowded by all those drawings he had made and more; the painting of that troublesome landscape served as one of its leaves.

He simply didn't know why he had ever even thought of giving up. With renewed spirits, that felt like the unthinkable. Life was beautiful. His life was beautiful. He could never forget all the smiles he had brought, all the help he had given.

Without Dream, he would have forgotten how much he cared about the worlds around him. He was truly thankful, from the bottom of whatever heart he had left.

He was grateful that his lack of soul hadn't slowed him down.

But it wasn't time to think about that - it only brought unwanted memories. He closed his eyes, let the breeze wave his scarf; all those burn marks and gashes his clothing bore were gone thanks to some artistic help from himself.

The papers waving were relaxing... the bird's chirps were enchanting... the distorted vrooming in the background was somewhat eerie...

Ink suddenly frowned.

What vrooming?

It felt awfully familiar... and it had been pure luck that his curiosity made him look behind him, because only then had he noticed the Gaster Blaster shooting a powerful beam of scalding magic straight at him.

He couldn't even gasp as he quickly moved out of the way, instincts racing as he merely caught sight of the origami tree bursting into a ball of fire before he was forced to dodge the strings that shot towards him like arrows.

He felt an unbelievable amount of irate sadness envelope him as he narrowly missed the raging threads; until they completely ceased coming, and silence was casted over the disrupted timeline.

No... it _couldn't_ be...

He slowly stepped back, eyes peeled. He felt like a heart he didn't have was frantically pounding, almost making his limbs tremble, feeling like it was about to burst from his chest.

He heard the quiet crackling of flames, and couldn't stop himself from turning around with care... his whole world sank as he saw his beloved creation downgraded to a weak fire, surviving papers hopelessly gliding down like poor ashes.

The sorrow clouding him was so fervent that he didn't even hear the strings striking towards him from behind, much less stop them as they wound around his neck and raised him a couple of feet above the grassy ground.

They weren't tight enough to choke him to death, but he began panicking as he came to understand what was happening; and to say he was terrified was an understatement.

It seemed like the more he struggled against the strings, the more their firm hold increased, but he wasn't about to wait until they eventually took his life doing nothing to stop them. A single eye was opened to scan the area in search of a presence he'd give anything not to see.

That glitch was nowhere to be found, but his cruel chuckle was heard across the raided timeline.

 **"well, lookie who's here."** a broken voice taunted; Ink yelped weakly as the strings turned him around, slightly tightening as they forced him to make eye contact with the other skeleton.

Phalanges slightly curled, Error slowly padded towards the bound creator, certainly mindless of watching out for the threads that could take his life in a second.

 **"about time i found this place, am i right?"** Error continued sneering as his defenseless rival glared at him; with fear, but with hatred. **"nice try at keeping yourself hidden, i'll say that."**

He stopped a few feet in front of Ink, giving the no longer serene timeline a curious look. He glanced at the endless doors like a child would look at candy, and his grin widened almost sadistically. **"oh man, this is too easy. you practically gift-wrapped all these anomalies for me... what a nice detail."**

Despite heavily distressed and mostly focused on stopping the strings from tightening further, Ink shot him a defying glare that screamed hatred. "Y-you... you won't get away with this..." he managed to say, his voice stifled.

Error snickered, **"and what are you gonna do? call your little friend? oh, wait, that's right. he left. what a shame."**

The other wanted to throw a remark at him... but Ink averted his gaze.

Why was everything going so wrong? Dream had left and had no way of knowing what was happening, and Ink couldn't summon any magic for reasons unknown to him - he could only guess that stress and his progressive weakening were the factors contributing to keeping him helpless.

Error glared at him, a small head tilt letting what little curiosity he had show. **"so, healing ourselves, aren't we?"** he taunted, receiving a look of fear from the other skeleton. **"how adorable. and i guess that was you opening all of those portals, right? heh, it's funny... you actually thought you could get back on track."**

Ink's glare was weak; not from the strings' mild hold, but because he felt hopeless again. Small. Insignificant. He was again at the mercy of a merciless monster, and he was letting his despair show - he had dropped his fearless façade and he simply couldn't get it back.

 **"aww, i know, i know. it's a lot to take on. you think you're safe, you think you can heal yourself... and suddenly here i am! guess it was pretty unexpected for you. it leaves you kind of** _**breathless** _ **, doesn't it?"**

He grinned pitilessly as he violently curled his phalanges, tightening the strings to a dangerous point; Ink gave a choked yelp before his panic began to increase at an alarming rate.

Error continued to look around without regard for the other skeleton, desperately trying to pry the strings off his neck to no avail. **"...say, what would you think if i destroyed this place right in front of you?"**

Weakly gasping for breath, Ink managed to shoot a despaired glance at him as he grinned, "N-no... gh- wait... p... please..."

His desperation, terror, guiltiness, could be seen haunting him from a mile away, but Error showed no compassion as he turned to face him. "D...don't..." Ink wheezed, hopelessly clinging to life. "Don't... d-do this... You... you c... can't..."

A ruthless chuckle was the response he got. **"why would it matter? you'll end up dead either way, so why bother? but, of course... i can simply end you now if you don't want to see it..."**

Error began to tighten the threads without a single speck of remorse, until Ink couldn't muster a single intake of breath no matter how small.

He only chuckled as he watched life slowly leave the choking skeleton, enjoyed his profuse suffering with a remorseless smile until Ink's desperate struggling began to cease.

Only a few seconds separated him from death, but Error closed his eyes with a brief, content laugh. **"alright, i think i've scared you enough."** The strings retreated, dropping Ink as he coughed, wheezed, gasped for air while the other skeleton turned around to inspect the timeline further. **"i'm not going to kill you. not** _ **yet**_ **, at least. heh heh."**

It was like a gift. Error wouldn't say he minded having to kill each and every single monster in a timeline; at the end of the day, it was rather entertaining, but it was countless times better to have them all at his disposal without need to risk hurting himself or waste a ridiculous amount of magic on certain monsters.

He definitely liked that odd universe more than he'd ever like Outertale.

A red door, decorated by several drawings of stylized chains, opened up before him once he was close enough, making him stop on his tracks to inspect it. **"oh? what's this?"**

It let him see the world of Demitale. An interesting universe to say the least, but it had never impressed him.

He chuckled quietly, **"ain't that helpful? it's almost a pity to do this... but, hey, who would say no to such a chance?"**

Ink was panting heavily when he finally managed to push himself up, coughing once and being flooded by worry and fear as he saw Error padding at a prudent distance from the door closing behind him as he walked away from it.

He felt numb when he watched as he calmly summoned a Gaster Blaster above it.

"No... No, _please, don't do it!"_

He shakily stood up with a cracking voice and rushed towards the door, trying to somehow stop the blast before it was too late. Error heard his desperate pleads and grinned, carelessly activating the deathly skull glaring threateningly at the door.

Its maw burst open as a powerful laser erupted from it, the door to the enigmatic world of Demitale exploding into colorful bits of disintegrating wood and shrapnel.

Error hadn't expected a pained shriek to follow the explosion, and he slowly turned around only to frown with intrigue as he watched Ink fall to his knees, eyes clenched shut in pain as one hand clutched his chest as if it were burning.

No less, Ink felt like he was being burned alive for a few eternal seconds before the scalding pain became a mere ache.

Being connected to such a fragile timeline had its consequences... when its decorations vanished along with him, he only felt saddness. The doors, the universes, however, were a much different story - because each time a timeline died, he felt a part of him burst in a million pieces.

His connection to the universes was too great.

He gritted his teeth as he panted, trying to get over the slowly decreasing pain as he weakly looked up. The door was completely gone, only a few remaining sparkles acting as ashes floating down and vanishing from sight.

 **"oh, i'm sorry, was that important?"** Error scoffed without sympathy, chuckling as he approached yet another door. The fact that the destruction of universes hurt that pathetic weakling was amusing... he was so used to hearing screams of pain and terror as he wiped out whatever type of impure monsters constituted those broken worlds that destroying them in silence felt dull, wrong.

"You... you monster..." Ink growled weakly, staggering to his feet. Being so close to death had heavily debilitated him, but he couldn't allow his timeline, all those people he had vowed to protect, be destroyed just like that.

He could _not._

 **"aren't we all monsters, though?"** the broken skeleton shrugged, the door to what Ink quickly identified as Storyswap opening as Error walked past and gave it a quickly look. One of disgust.

**"ugh. if there's something i hate more than universes themselves, it's their pointless ripoffs. couldn't you all be content with underswap? but no, you and whoever caused these abominations to exist just had to keep going. it's getting pretty irritating."**

Another blaster appeared in midair through glitching squares and rectangles of black and white, glaring maliciously at the door. "Don't you dare," came a threat from the creator as the vials began glowing with furious magic, though Error didn't seem surprised.

 **"oh, i'm so scared."** the glitched skeleton laughed mockingly, guffawing as he activated the Gaster Blaster. Though Ink managed to summon a single spiral of dull colors, the beam destroyed the door just seconds before the projectiles could stop it, successfully shattering the building magic with a pained scream as accompaniment.

Ink fell on one knee, unable to bear the excruciating agony that burned through him; he felt numb for what seemed to be a merciless eternity.

He took a deep, shaky breath as he allowed himself to look up with a weak glare, though he only managed to see a bright light before an immense amount of pain caused him to fall with an agonizing scream as two universes were consecutively wiped from existence – specifically, Storyshift as a whole and Candytale.

He coughed, feeling the world around him spin and fade to black.

No… he couldn't give up… not _there_ … not _yet… not again..._

He feebly tried to push himself up, but his arms felt like mere sticks and he fell back down with a quiet wheeze of insufferable pain.

The laugh made him sick.

" **really? that's all? pity, i thought you would actually fight this time… but who am i kidding? you've always been a weakling. an useless addition to this anomaly cluster."**

His voice began dropping and awfully deforming itself; Ink writhed in agony with stifled screams as Underfell was gladly vaporized into burned bits of wood and sparkling magic.

" **don't take me wrong, i'd gladly kill you… but it's just more entertaining this way. heh. hope you like pain…"**

" **be** **̀** **c** **͢** **a** **̶** **u** **̕** **s** **̡** **e** **͝** **th** **͢** **is** **̶** **̨** **i** **s** **̵** **̀** **go** **̕** **n** **̢** **na** **́** **g** **̀** **o** **̢** **on** **̵** **́** **fo** **͘** **r a** **̀** **̷** _ **lo**_ _ **͠**_ _ **n**_ _ **̕**_ _ **g**_ _ **̧**_ **͜** **time** **̶** **.** **"** **̛**

* * *

"…odd."

It was a gut feeling. A foreboding, one could say, though Dream couldn't really tell what could have caused those faint, quiet rumbles that felt like tired earthquakes.

There was a distant ache in his chest. Something that was poking him, telling him that something, somewhere across the multiverse, was out of place. Strange. Wrong.

He had a feeling that he needed to be worried; what he didn't know was why. "I really hope Ink is doing fine…" he mused, caressing the dying Tree beside him as if he could _hear_ its distress. "Whatever is happening has to do with one or more universes, but I don't think he's in trouble… I should go check anyways."

He stood up, though hesitantly. Nothing seemed too out of place for how his situation was going, but it still pained him to even look at the Tree.

It just came to him how alike his and Ink's conditions were.

Both were losing something dear to them, and had been given a crueler take on the world by someone they thought they knew… perhaps that was why helping him felt like something that had happened before.

The rumbles continued, and he glanced up. Around him, he felt worry, distraught nervousness. Something was definitely not right, and he would have a better chance at finding the source of the problem if he searched for it in the only place that held free access to each and every single world out there.

Perhaps he was foolishly worrying too much, but he mostly feared that Ink could be freaking out if something was wrong in the multiverse. A small checkup never hurt anybody, and his timeline seemed safe and relatively peaceful for the time being.

He opened the portal, though he lingered there for a moment before stepping through.

* * *

 "Hey, Ink, is everything alrig- _WHAT THE_ -"

The glimmering gap had appeared right next to one of the doors, specifically the one that led to Swapfell; Dream only had the span of a single second to roll out of the way before the lethal beam vaporized him as well.

Staggering to his feet in shock, he felt like his whole body had frozen when his eyes left the shimmering explosion of the hostile universe, letting him see the chaos among a timeline that had been as peaceful as a sunset just minutes ago.

Burnt papers flying down, fire and smoke everywhere, decoding doors… it was like the apocalypse had struck the Doodle Sphere without pity

" **hey, about time you showed up!"**

The sickeningly cheerful voice of broken words made a distraught Dream whirl around, facing the menacing eyes glaring at him with a sadistic grin.

" **look, i even left your pathetic 'home' to be one of the last. i almost got tired of waiting."**

The aghast skeleton had to let himself breathe heavily for a moment, sinking the chaos that was happening in, before his expression of shock became one of undeterred anger.

" _Where is Ink?"_ he demanded, the star shaped ends of his staff glowing with the threat of an attack as he readied himself to strike.

 **"now, now, no need to hug me to death."** Error scoffed, earning a glower from the caped skeleton whose golden eyes were fixed on him as he peacefully padded through, like the broken timeline was a playground for him.

 **"your friend is not dead... though he's not far from it."** He laughed without traits of remorse as strings reached out to something out of Dream's sight; his face fell when the threads lifted a barely conscious Ink by a tight hold on his wrist.

**"might want to start worrying about yourself. think what you want, he's not gonna make it past this point."**

He was thrown onto his side like a mere puppet without use, motionless and barely taking in weak, heavy breaths.

"No..." the other skeleton whispered, rushing to his side with desperation written on each step he took until he kneeled beside the dying artist.

No. No indeed.

_When did he get the damn idea of leaving?!_

Ink coughed weakly, struggling to catch his breath again before he relaxed as much as the scalding pain consuming every part of his body let him. His eyes fluttered open, circular pupils barely visible. "D... Dream..." he murmured through a pained voice. "I'm... s... s-sorry..."

"No, no, don't talk, you hear me?" the skeleton next to him urged him as his vision began to swim. "Just stay put, breathe... It'll be alright..."

He hated himself.

He couldn't help but hate himself. Nothing of that scale would have happened had he stayed... damn it, damn it, _damn it!_

Though, something drove his attention away from his will to smack himself at such mistake. Ink wasn't wounded. His eye crack remained, but that was about it. No signs of any other direct blows at him. Yet, he was barely hanging on to life.

Dream gave Error a spiteful look, "What have you done to him?"

 **"me?"** He snorted, **"nothing. you could even say he hurt himself. y'see, each time an universe is destroyed, it hurts him. where's my fault here?"**

The caped skeleton regarded him with a disbelieving scowl before he looked around him. Countless. Countless doors were missing, broken or glitched, so many that he had to walk through the sea of smoke and fire to encounter an universe.

And his gloved hands curled into infuriated fists.

"And you just left him to suffer like this?!" he shouted with grieving rage, but Error wasn't faced by his sorrow and merely smirked.

**"serves him right. you don't just act like you rule the world and get away with it. you make a mistake? you pay for it, simple as that. you're just prolonging his pain, though. he would be dead at this point."**

If Dream had any blood on him, it would be boiling so fervently that irate smoke would be coming out of his bones as if he were a geyser. He was vexed, saddened, concerned, ashamed, frustrated, angered...

But he merely sighed. "I just... I just don't understand..."

Error had to frown at the lack of hostility, but he could see what was coming from a mile away and he calmly stuffed his hands in his pockets. He could almost hear the timeline sighing in relief...

"What's the point of all this...? What is the _reason_?"

 **"i'll dance for joy if you actually understand, because you'll be the first one."** the broken skeleton commented with a brief snicker. **"see... you may think i'm nobody to do this. i get this so many times. why me? why them? why bother? and the answer is as simple as blinking."** He performed said action, before jeering, **"it's just something that has to be done. i actually care about the real world nobody even remembers. i'm just ridding it from unwanted, harmful trash."**

Dream glared at him scornfully, "And who are you to decide what we are?"

Slowly regaining consciousness after the onslaught of profuse agony ceased, Ink managed to weakly glance at the skeleton beside him as he stood up defiantly.

"These universes have existed for ages. Nobody but you has ever complained, and the true timeline is safe and unconnected from the worlds that surround it. How is a simple mindset an excuse to kill hundreds, _thousands_ of innocent people?"

**"see? it always happens - you got the wrong side, so you begin to complain. it's only natural, i don't blame you."**

**"at first, it was pretty boring to just go around killing whatever crossed your path..."** He grinned, **"but i think you've got a brotherly reason to know that, _the more you distance yourself, the easier it is to hurt others."_**

Dream was taken aback with a quiet gasp; throughout the speech, Ink had managed to fight off the vicious ache all over him and sit up.

The damage waa done, and Ink could only be glad the excruciating pain was slowly letting him regain his strength.

Everything Error so casually told them burned as much as the death of an universe did.

**"hey, it's for the best. if you only have a single job, you'd better bring yourself to enjoy it."**

A Gaster Blasted materialized behind him, and Dream quickly snapped out of his thoughts as he took a step back and readied his magic. **"and, since you're so concerned about your artsy pal...i͡'l̶l m͡ak͝e͡ sur̵e y̷ou w̴a̴t̵ch ̶as̛ ̛i̡ kill hi̶m.̵"̡**

The blaster fired as Error's voice became a distorted garble, and Dream hastily stopped the deathly laser with a golden swipe of his staff. Seeing Ink fight off the pain was strangely relieving. "Ink... Listen, I know you're hurt, but you need to hide, now!"

"I'm not... I'm not leaving you here." the other replied in drowning concern as he shakily stood up; it pained Dream to see his paint vials losing their color again, but it was his life what Ink would lose if they didn't act quickly.

"There's no time! I'll distract him, just hide! He doesn't know this place, go while you can!" Another blast nearly hit its targets, but the caped skeleton's reflexes proved to be too fast for it. White smoke began to cloud around them.

"Now!"

Flashbacks, memories, everything was swarming him like a hungry cloud of flies and Ink could barely focus as he backed away with shaky breathing. Dream looked over his shoulder to give him a sorrowed glance, "I don't want to see you die."

Error had summoned another blaster, though he seemed to pause when the fading smoke revealed a single, feisty skeleton.

He was most definitely not in the mood to play hide and seek.

 **"listen here, buddy... you two can fight, hide, do whatever you want..."** A barrier of red bones emerged behind Dream, startling him. **"but even if it's the last thing i do, i WIL͠L kil̶l̴ ̴y̷ou̡.͏"̛**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sister wanted this to be a cliffhanger. ;-;


	12. I Will Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I've had enough of you." Ink growled, pupils shaped like diamonds of dangerous scarlet. "Of you and your senseless points. If you really want to destroy this place... you'll have to go through me."
> 
> A laugh. 
> 
> "bring it on, you f̸i͘l̸thy lit͟t̛l͡e th͠i̢n͡g̛.̶"

Wrong. Wrong. _Wrong_ , it was all going _wrong_ , it was all _wrong_. His fears, his worries, it was all storming back to him, haunting him.

The nightmares. They truly _were_ visions. Dream leaving, his timeline getting destroyed, death trying to take him... It had all been a warning that he shouldn't have ignored.

He had to stop and rest beside one of the few doors still standing, the lights of the explosions as a battle of good against evil took place feeling like tense thunder in the background.

The sight before him was somewhat reassuring; there still were entire gardens of doors intact, but Ink feared that most if not all core universes had been obliterated.

And its consequences were already showing.

He breathed heavily, though slowly. What he felt wasn't exactly pain; it was a strange ache in his chest. One that made him feel powerless, empty, as if he lacked something that left a bigger mark than his long lost soul. Like he couldn't function without it.

Why was everything going blurry?

_No._

He shook his head and kept going. He couldn't succumb to his fears. He couldn't give up. He couldn't let himself be killed. He had already gone through such torture… and he was _not_ going to let it control his life and downgrade it to a mere bubble of depression and trauma again.

He was painfully confused.

He knew he couldn't fight against Error; he had found his weakness, and he had no chances of winning whatsoever. Only a single Gaster Blaster to a door would be enough to completely lower his guard and make him an easy target. By the other hand, something was stopping him like glue, urging him to go back and help Dream. But he knew he could do nothing useful and would only get them both killed.

_Curses._ There was a reason he loathed confusion and doubt. Especially when they were strengthened by that rushing feeling of having no time.

He was irrationally tired. He felt like he had been running up a mountain without pause, and his legs could barely let him stand; he had to stop, catching his breath, wincing whenever a distant explosion rumbled across.

He briefly screamed when his chest began burning; another one down.

But he kept going forward, slowly, clutching his chest as he tried to get the searing pain out of his mind. He had to get away. He would be safe. Dream had everything under control.

It would all be alright... It would all be alright... It would all...

_No it would not._

Error had found his way into the heart of the multiverse, and only two skeletons that weren't strong enough to defeat him stood in his way. He would not leave. He would not leave that timeline alone, not until everything, including himself, was destroyed.

He stopped.

Was it really the end...? What _could_ they do? They only had fighting left… and Ink couldn't help but realize the fact that Dream wasn't meant to be a fighter either.

Sorrow written on each of his steps, Ink made it to a hilly opening; which wasn't the best of ideas given he was trying his best not to be found, but he was far enough… he was too tired to rush all across the timeline hoping that monster wouldn't stumble upon him, anyways.

That part of the Doodle Sphere felt… odd. He had always stayed around the center, beside the tree that was forever gone along with those memories that formed it. Beside the core universes that had been vaporized to nothing…

He sighed weakly, the thought feeling like a sharp sting.

He had barely ever roamed around that secluded side of the once colorful timeline. Some doors had pieces missing, others were colorless… and the only decorations to be found were those grassy hills.

It felt old, unfinished…

Ink let curiosity make its way over to him. He couldn't think about the rumbling explosions in the distance… even if it was a blatant lie, he had to believe that Error would retreat, back to that hellhole where he came from, and never return. It was the only way he would keep panic at bay.

He focused on his surroundings, quietly stepping by. No trees, or sculptures, or even gliding sheets of paper, only a few doors without color here and there and several hills of varying sizes.

He did a double take. One of them had a cave. A large entrance, with a gentle, blue glow coming from it.

He frowned as he slowly advanced towards it. He couldn't remember a single thing that surrounded him… but at least that cave could serve as a hideout.

He slowly, carefully, approached, inquisitively peeking in before stepping inside the large, rocky cavern.

He was bewildered.

Just when he thought he had hardly ever paid attention to that remote part of his universe, he came across a mass of attention; the cave, despite tall and wide, didn't hold that much space inside, but the walls definitely held more than enough room for the countless papers and graffiti that crowded it.

Sketchy crystals on its sides illuminated it in glows of all shades of blue, some of the doodles and letters on the papers shimmering with neon effects.

Awed, the creator sauntered inside as if he were seeing something straight from a fiction movie, as if nothing inside was his own when it truly was.

…though, there was something out of place.

None of the sketches were finished. Some of them were nothing but scribbles, aimless lines and curves, misshapen figures. A few pages were even ripped, be it a small portion or entire halves.

His interest heavily poked, Ink inspected the notes closer. They were… really interesting.

Most if not all of them were discouraging. All they said was how much he wanted to give up, how he couldn't get any ideas, how people were giving up, how he felt… empty. Several papers had 'No', 'Why', and 'Think…' written on them via a lifeless pencil.

Others, however, held encouraging messages that seemed to be a desperate attempt to put a spring back in his step, though whether or not they succeeded was unknown to him…

When had that happened? He had never gone through that side of the timeline after the first fight against Error, and whatever he created couldn't simply travel across the timeline. Besides… he didn't remember drawing any those things during his hopeless stage.

…had he ever been depressed before?

Writing notes did leave him with a faint déjà vu feeling, but he had never regarded it as something important.

He inspected the interior of the small cavern further, seeking answers, but all he got were mere clues. Something was nagging at the back of his head, but he simply couldn't place what.

He never realized how worryingly quiet the timeline had gone as he pondered.

He glanced at the doors outside, so lifeless and monotonous. Whatever had happened there, it had happened long ago… But it hadn't been happy.

He had to connect all the dots. Why would he have gotten another reason to give up on everything? Why wouldn't the doors be marked? Why was everything hidden?

He suddenly began to realize how familiar his past situation had felt, but he couldn't tell why. Why was he beginning to realize something he should have long ago? If only his memory was a tiny, minuscule speck better…

He closed his eyes, concentrated. Something that seemed foolish held a gargantuan amount of importance, and he was fully aware of it. A part of him wished he had stumbled upon that little grotto before, but perhaps it still held some answers.

He _had_ to figure out the reason behind that forgotten mental breakdown…

**"you're not all that good at hiding, did you know that?"**

Ice ran down his back as he startled, frozen in place, before he allowed himself to slowly turn around with pinprick sized pupils.

And yet, the fact that Error was hardly even scathed and that Dream was nowhere in sight terrified him more than the fact that he was trapped.

He took a step back, eyes narrowing. "Where is Dream," he enquired menacingly, though audible fear still trailed behind his voice.

**"how corny. you two care too much about each other for being about to die-"**

" _Where is he?"_

To say the least, the glitched skeleton was somewhat taken aback by the sudden hostility from the other, but his smirk returned with a mere blink. It was easy to tell Ink was fully unwilling to fight and was only bluffing when he kept backing up at each slow step Error took towards him.

**"oh fine. let's just say… a few broken bones have never hurt anybody."** He chuckled with shrug, grinned further as unbound worry practically sparkled from Ink's faded pupils as he quietly gasped, weakly narrowing his eyes with distant hatred that couldn't step in front of his terror.

**"hey, at least be glad i didn't kill him. but as for you… come on, you should have expected your pitiful life to eventually reach a _dead end._ "**

Ink startled when his back met the wall behind him, and whatever fighting spirits he was able to shine through his frightened pupils were quick to fade into heartfelt terror.

Error stopped his advance with a sickening grin, a hand taken out of his pocket to summon a point-blank Gaster Blaster above him. **"now be a good little glitch and hold still for once. you'd better thank me for making it painless this time. just because you're saddening."**

Ink couldn't stop himself from shaking like a leaf as lethal energy began to charge inside the glaring skull's fanged maw. Perhaps it was a painless death… but the broken skeleton found the utter terror he was inflicting on the other sadistically amusing.

A brief chuckle, as the blaster opened its mouth with blinding magic.

No, no, no, _no._

He couldn't die. He couldn't. It would all be destroyed… everything… thousands, millions of innocent monsters would die before they could even realize their imminent end grinning at them. Everything he wanted to protect, everything he had worked so hard to aid…

No…

_No…_

**"s͜a͠y g̶o̧od̸bye̸."**

His eyes were clenched shut… And he felt that fervent magic build up around him…

"It won't end like this… I can't let it end like this…" Ink muttered as he gritted his teeth with building rage, the heart-shaped tops of his fading vials slowly beginning to spin like a hyperactive peg-top.

His eye burst open with a determined star that glowed brighter than the blast threatening to cut his life short.

_"I WILL NOT DIE!"_

The Gaster Blaster fired as he screamed his burning hatred out, his hands flinging themselves in front of him before he could even realize his actions; the laser collided, though not against his frail body, but against the shield he had created.

Error startled, but didn't stop the blast.

It was the same scenario all over again. When Ink finally brought himself to look at what was happening in front of him, he couldn't help but remember.

Dream had protected him the same way he was protecting himself back in Underfell.

He didn't even know where that magic came from, all he knew was that it was holding on without fear and he would not give up, even if the effort he had to put into keeping the barrier alive was almost too great for him.

He shooed any thought away, no matter what kind. All he could do was concentrate, hold on to that determined power and never let go, as if it were his lifeline.

The blaster proved to be dangerously strong, though. Exhaustion was quick to disturb him, but he did his best to ingore it.

The desire to protect the multiverse stood between him and death.

**"heh, guess i was right. you really don't know when to give up... nice try, but cut the heroism. there's nothing you or your glittery buddy can do for this disgusting pile of mistakes. the sooner you realize, the better it'll be for you."**

Much to Ink's dismay, Error gladly summoned yet another Gaster Blaster that wasted no time in firing, the sheer force of the impact nearly causing the struggling creator to lose his balance, but he showed no signs of giving up despite his notorious exhaustion.

**"i don't even know why you're trying this badly not to be erased."** His grin widened, though Ink had tightly closed his eyes and couldn't focus on anything but his newfound outburst of magic. **"believe me, you'll tire yourself out before i do."**

More energy was applied to the shadowed skulls, and Ink grunted as he was slowly pushed back by the tremendous force of the lasers; he risked a glance at the shield, and didn't like how it began to visibly weaken.

No. Keep going. _Keep going._

The entire multiverse counted on him. Dream, wherever he was, too, more than anybody else.

And his magic suddenly burst with unbounded hatred and fury.

"YOU WILL NOT DESTROY THIS WORLD!"

His shield suddenly flashed with every color known as so did his vials; the barrier in front of him suddenly exploded, sending a powerful wave forward, strong enough to obliterate the restless Gaster Blasters and force Error to cover his face from the raging debris and white smoke that waved his jacket like a gale.

When the outburst finally stopped, he blinked at the fatigued skeleton as he breathed heavily, eyes closed, powerless. The hand of different colors slowly lowered as Error glared at Ink with that perpetual frown.

The artist barely managed to look up at him through tired pants and half open eyes, and the broken skeleton chuckled.

**"about time."**

Slowly steadying his breathing, Ink straightened up, even though any movement made his bones ache. He hadn't lost his magic; his vials were still glowing, and he could hear those who survived the massacre cheering for him.

He just wanted to know if Dream was okay. He woudn't stand to know that Error had killed him.

He waited for the glitch to continue; clearly, the impressive counterattack had amused him. Not enough to spare him, of course, but perhaps enough to give him a chance.

**"i thought you would go out like a weakling... seems like you do have some fight in you after all. nothing better than to end the core of a problem with an actual fight."**

"I've had enough of you." Ink growled, pupils shaped like diamonds of dangerous scarlet. "Of you and your senseless points. If you really want to destroy this place... you'll have to go through me."

A laugh. 

**"bring it on, you f̸i͘l̸thy lit͟t̛l͡e th͠i̢n͡g̛.̶"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we torturing you with cliffhangers at this point? ;)  
> Worry not, next chapter is probably going to be relatively long and less cliffhanger-y ;D  
> Sis why did you have to make this AU so suspenseful.


	13. Face Your Mistake, Face Your Limit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had pushed himself beyond his limits. He had done everything he could. Perhaps he was close to restoring what he had messed up, perhaps he was not, but he had tried, he had given it his best, and he had faced his mistake.

Curse that pain.

Dream hurriedly staggered to his feet, grunting as his broken femur was forced to stand his weight. It hurt, but the only thing that mattered was that he could stand and walk for the time being. He couldn't afford to heal it any further; he simply did  _not_  have the time.

Error saw the general direction Ink had taken, and didn't hesitate before following.

He limped forward, wincing and shaking his head to rid it of the vicious ache. His chest still burned; the powerful gash crossing his midsection had definitely reached two of his ribs, but to heal them wasn't as much as a priority as his leg was. He had to save his magic for the imminent fight.

He couldn't help but be afraid. Terribly afraid. Error was gradually losing what little sanity he had left; so many kills, one straight after the other, had made him dangerously stronger, the high amount of LOVE he already carried with himself rising beyond the limit.

It was only a matter of time before he snapped and became a mindless killing machine that wouldn’t leave a single strand of grass intact, a complete monster with nothing but room for torture – he had always been on his way to, anyways.

The distant sound of explosions startled the caped skeleton as he listened for any cue that would tell him where to go, and he craned his head towards the general direction of the rumbling with fearful eye sockets; feelings of panic, concern, disquiet, hit him like a wave as he observed the faint smoke and white lights ahead with contracted pupils.

The chills he felt running all over him as he hurried towards the battle as fast as his wounded leg let him almost made him feel like he was standing in the middle of a cruel blizzard of anticipation.

He could only hope with all of his might that he got there before all his eyes met were a pile of sparkling dust and a psychopathic smile staring down at him as if to warn him that he was next in line.

He wasn't expecting much as he finally reached the hilly garden of colorless doors – but, out of what little he  _was_  expecting, the fact that Ink was fighting, on his own, with varying attacks as opposed to that acidic magic alone, caught him completely off-guard; enough for him to make him ignore the somber doors and blue glow sparkling out of one of the hills.

Dream came to a halt, briefly wincing at the small sting his femur gave him, before letting disbelieved awe take over him and his inner fear. For a moment, even with every single instinct of his telling him to rush in and get Ink away from the raging blasters and strings he dodged and neutralized with newfound ease, he simply couldn't move.

It was like the world had paused and turned upside down; millions of questions surrounded him, puzzlement and intrigue taking over his thoughts as he pondered in slow motion. All he wanted to know was how, and why, and when. Wasn't Ink terrified of that monster who had nonchalantly wiped out half a world of worlds? Wasn't he defenseless, untrusting of his powers?

And there he was, fighting against his biggest fear with courage and will he had never had after everything went south; not even during that beautiful period of restoring himself.

But Dream promptly snapped out of his bewilderment.

He'd understand everything later; he  _had_  to help.

There was a clear unbalance in the explosive brawl that could mark its end; Ink was notably exhausted, while Error looked like he had just begun fighting. The creator was somehow managing to defend himself well enough, but his powers weren't as strong as they had once been and the smallest of slips could be his doom.

He seemed to realize, though he wasn't going to show. Weakness was his downfall.

He mentally thanked everything when Error paused his onslaught of deathly magic to observe him as he stood his ground; tired beyond words, but not willing to give up. Ink's stare screamed hatred, though the other's was a menacingly amused glare.

His coat of jet black bore a small gash on its side, but that was the only scar he had gotten thus far. Ink hadn't expected him to laugh off that acidic projectile almost reaching him.

**"y'know, everyone needs a little recognition every once in a while; you're stronger than i remembered. heh."**

His worn out rival only growled at his jeer, vials glowing as they readied magic for the incoming Gaster Blaster staring down at him with that sickening grin he was tired of.

Though, it wasn't the shadow skull that caught most of his attention, but Dream's figure several feet away from the glitched skeleton and the glow of his staff.

The blast had almost obliterated him because of the small distraction, and Ink mentally smacked himself.

He knew that had always been one of his biggest flaws in combat – he was prone to lowering his guard. That mistake was the reason he had lost that one fateful fight in the first place, and no matter how relieved he was to see Dream relatively fine, he wasn't about to stop. A little distraction and it was all over.

Ignoring the scalding smoke next to him, Ink readied himself for the next attack when a projectile of gold was almost able to knock an unsuspecting Error off his feet, and his opponent paused in shock.

Whirling around to face whoever had had the audacity to interrupt him, a burst of spite and annoyance enveloped Error as he narrowed his menacing eyes at a feisty Dream.

**_"why you little..."_ **

Words couldn’t explain how much he hated that glittering sack of nosy bones.

He was about to greet the annoying excuse of a Sans in front of him with a point-blank Gaster Blaster at the same time as the other charged yet another projectile of gold, but a commanding voice they hadn't expected made their rising magic come to a harsh halt.

_"Stop."_

Error frowned as he gave the skeleton behind him a sideways glance. Ink having been the one with the foolish courage to stop him was even more unexpected – for _both_ skeletons, who looked over at him; one with hatred, the other with confusion.

The three point star in his eye was as courageous yet serious as anything could ever be. "Leave Dream out of this." He paused, blinked once. "I don't want him to help."

Said skeleton blinked in unspoken confusion, lowering his staff as it fully ceased glowing. "W-what?" he stammered, the whole situation twisting out of his understanding.

Error seemed intrigued.

"I want to fight alone." Ink confidently stated, moving his narrowed gaze off a puzzled Dream to glower at the waiting skeleton of black and red. "This is all my fault. _I_ started this mess, and _I_ will end it. I’ve already made my choice."

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and gazed back at the one being who had saved his life in every possible way as if it was the last time they would see each other. "Dream, _I'm_ the one who doesn't want to see you die. There are people out there who still have a chance to survive, and you're one of them. As for me... there's only so much I can do. Whether or not I'm cut out to be a guardian... it'll be decided here."

And indeed, there _were_ people who could survive the merciless Armageddon, people who had to be chased down throughout time and space and didn’t need the physical part of the multiverse to live; Dream himself, his brother, Fresh, Geno, whoever had set foot on the Omega Timeline... and even if they were a small portion of what the multiverse had once been, they were still living beings. They had been brought to life by creativity, inspiration.

Ink was willing to protect them, because as long as there was life, there was hope. He couldn't afford to let anybody else die to cruel hypocrisy. And he couldn’t afford to lose them because of his own idiocy.

The vials created two spirals above him, ready to deflect and attack. "So, please... Dream, stay out of this. You've done enough for me... now it's my turn to help you and everyone else." Silence. “…no matter how crazy it sounds, _promise_ me you won’t get in the way.”

The caped skeleton was speechless. He could only stare, his expression one of concern and doubt, his mind free of thought.

He didn't know what to do. Error was considerably more powerful than before, heavily unstable, and the only thing that kept Ink going was pure Determination. It was a mismatch, a suicidal idea. A small distraction and the only one who kept that once cheerful place alive would be nothing but dust.

But the creator was bent on fixing his mistake... or letting it show him his fate.

He couldn’t find his voice, and without saying a word and letting his expression tell hundreds of them, Dream backed up as Error's ruthless glare pierced into him. **"welp, you heard the little hero."** His voice dropped, the bicolor pupil contracting with malice. **"** **scr** **̡** **am** **̸** **.** **͘** **"**

Dream gave him no attention, his gaze low, and could only try to settle down his scrambled ideas.

He wouldn't intervene in the fight... but he would _not_ let that monster kill Ink.

Error turned to face his opponent, face nonchalant as a fanged skull materialized above him. **"what can i say, you got me impressed there. i really didn't think you could be any more stupid."** He shrugged, carefree, under the glare of the artist. **"you have a chance to win, and you throw it down the drain. why? because you think you can fix what you’ve broken. isn’t that just sweet? but i’m nobody to judge, am i? if you wanna save a couple of those freaks, suit yourself. just don't get your hopes of winning up."**

Ink stayed silent for a second, thinking, pondering, questioning everything.

"...I never said I _would_ win, did I?"

A grin of gold, as a white light illuminated the dark skull’s maw. **"you'd better stick to that mindset. maybe that way you won't plead like a sissy when i end you once and for all."**

The blasted fired violently; Dream had an almost uncontrollable urge to rush in and help, but he stopped himself with painful regret; it was hard to stand and stare as the one he had saved from countless dangers and misfortunes fought against an insane monster with temporary strength.

No, he couldn't worry; he couldn't be afraid. He had to hope. It was the only thing that could lead Ink to victory.

...but it was difficult to have faith witnessing such an unfair combat.

Ink was quick to make the semi colorful spirals above him join together into a shield against which the broken laser collided with might the creator was capable of deflecting, though barely.

Instantly, the shield spun into a sphere of swirling greys and bright colors that soon imploded into aggressive projectiles that barreled forward as if they had a mind of their own; Error was taken aback as dozens of scalding bullets emerged from the smoke curtain, and held a single second to summon a barrier of bones that took the damage instead, melting into nothing along with the bubbling paint.

Strings shot from all ten phalanges, and Error wasted no time before sending them all at the skeleton in front of him as the clearing smoke revealed his exact position; several were closely dodged, the rest were snapped by a swipe of paint that quickly took on the shape of a sharp, dissipating boomerang.

Exhaustion wasn't making the fight easy for Ink, and he was forced to momentarily stop and restore his valuable stamina; never taking his eyes off Error as he regained his composure. He knew he wouldn't make the fight fair, no matter how noble it was.

And, expectedly enough, a new set of strings came charging towards him at a terrifying speed. The same, rushed swipe managed to break all of them – all, but two that were quick to wrap around his leg, violently pulling back.

Ink held back as scream as his frail spine harshly met the ground, but the shrill pain wasn't enough to stop him from getting out of the way of the many strings coming towards him, stabbing the empty earth one after the other.

He grunted at a sharp ache as he stood upright, but dealt with it.

 **"hey, congrats, this has to be the longest you've ever lasted in a fight!"** Error taunted, not the slightest bit tired from the heavy magic usage; behind him, a tense Dream watched with spite yet waves of preoccupation. **"but, really now, is it actually worth it?"**

Ink said nothing, regaining his worn out breath as he waited.

**"i just want you to think about it. here, i can do whatever i want. you can't defeat me, not even with help from this irritating friend of yours. why waste everyone's time? saving a couple of pointless glitches i could find later isn't gonna make a difference. if i were you, i would have surrendered long ago."**

He grinned; Ink's confidence slowly leaving his side was a detail that didn't slip past him.

“Why would someone like you understand?” the creator retorted. “All you’ve ever known is destruction. You have _no idea_ how it feels like to lose something you’ve loved and cared for for so long. You… you have no idea how it feels to fail everyone…”

Something in Error’s expression changed, but it was never noticed. **"oh, come on. all that's left of this wretched multiverse is useless. worlds nobody knows or cares about. there's no point in trying to save them. heh, to think you're hurting yourself for the sake of mere mistakes... it's pitifully hilarious."**

The creator steered past his mocking chuckle; something clicked inside his mind, something that made him forget about everything that surrounded him.

_'Worlds nobody knows or cares about...'_

He risked a small glance at the doors, standing just far away not to get caught up in the fight. Colorless, incomplete, secluded from everything else...

His eyes widened.

They were universes that were still in progress or had been left behind... Worlds he had struggled with... Worlds that… made him question his achievements.

He risked another thoughtful glance at the blue glow of the cavern. The riddle was somehow beginning to make sense... he was remembering something, but he couldn't quite see it…

He knew. He knew he had been there before. He knew that that place was never supposed to bring good memories. Something bad had happened, yet it was something that had changed his point of view and made him who he truly was. But… why would it-

"Ink, watch out!"

He instantly looked up, only that way realizing a Gaster Blaster had fired during his thoughtful pause; he narrowly missed it, the hot air of the impact waving his scarf and almost make him lose his balance as he steered clear from the beam's path.

Not again, darn it... _Focus._

He truly cared about anything that could help him take more steps forward into his true life, but that was most certainly not the moment.

Ink’s pupils contracted when he saw up to five skulls above a laughing Error, and with adrenaline building up to anxiety, he aimlessly and with gritted teeth splayed his hand forward; the colored half of vials shot a projectile of yellowish green paint ahead.

Error was too concentrated on firing the blasters that he realized the fast moving projectile was going straight for his eyes too late.

With the fanged maws already surrounded by white light, his vision went fully black as everything began to burn – the Gaster Blasters were fired blindly, one by one, as an arm tried to rub the scalding paint off his eye sockets in shrill pain; garbled grunts accompanied the explosions of the lasers as they wildly hit everything but their target, though Dream had to get out of the way of one of the beams.

Error no longer acknowledged any of the two skeletons’ existence as he fought against blindness; it was a tempting opening that anyone would have taken... but Ink didn't attack.

He had always had something Error did not: he was noble. He had never had the heart to kill anyone, not even such a monster. Not because he thought he deserved a chance, simply because Ink wasn't willing to let his magic take anybody's life, no matter how underserved it was.

He did contemplate the choice, though, but it was a mere thought.

Dream exchanged perplexed glances between the two, “Ink, what are you waiting for?”

“…I never said I would kill him either.”

Despite the shared hatred for that glitched abomination, Dream couldn’t help but give a small smile.

He valued kindness over anything else.

Error only growled as a single eye glared at them with heartfelt spite, a hand clutching the stinging other, mercy no longer meaning anything to him.

All three skeletons startled at a thundering crack resonating all across the timeline, though only Ink and Dream turned around and looked up to see the sky being covered in a morbid purple outlined by black, slowly but surely, the enlarging blob devouring the sunset coloration above.

"What the..." Ink heard Dream mutter as he hobbled closer, gaze lost into the frightening sky that had just been a sight to behold; the creator regarded that worrying gash crossing his chest before looking down at his own hand when he felt a growing ache around him.

It was erratically fading, like his whole body whenever he panicked.

"Oh no..."

As the two stared into the collapsing world, the final consequence of so much boundless destruction, they never noticed Error slowly regaining his sight, slowly standing upright, his hand tightly holding a bone of scarlet sharper than any knife had ever been as his grin curved into a scowl of irate fury.

"Ink... What is going on...?" Dream fearfully enquired as he took a weak step back; he hadn’t taken the time to fully heal his leg in case he found himself in need of thriving magic if something went wrong.

In the distance, they could see colorless squares floating up into the lifeless sky as if an invisible tornado were hoisting them up; squares that had once been grass and the remnants of the destroyed doors that used to be packed with life.

"It's all... d-disappearing..." came the frightening reply; the ache began to sharpen, but Ink kept the inner pain for himself. He couldn't panic. He couldn't lose himself.

But… it was like he was going back in time. It felt like his ribs were cracked again; he couldn’t keep his right eye open for reasons unknown to him; his arm stung, though he could still move it.

The vials flickered, his Determination gradually vanishing.

Dream only turned his attention to him when he heard the brief yet sickening crunching of bones accompanied by a pained, suppressed gasp.

Feeling like his body was frozen, he slowly turned around, and he wished he never had.

Eyes smaller that pinpricks, shaped like fearful circles of dull orange, the world around Ink seemed to deform and darken as the stinging pain rose to be insufferable; but his body wouldn't respond, and he could only stand still like a statue with weak, choked intakes of breath.

The bone had stabbed straight through his spine, the sharp tip sprouting from his thorax.

Feebly shivering in silent agony, he managed to look downwards, panic rising through him as he saw the sharpened bone among dangerously blurred vision.

He barely recognized Dream's figure, barely heard the broken chuckle behind him as everything began to fade.

 **"** **c** **҉** **heck** **̵** **ma** **͏** **t** **͞** **e** **̷** **.** **̷** **"**

Error violently pulled back, sending a nearly lifeless Ink to the fading ground beneath him. He couldn't muster up the strength to even wince at the burning sting all across his back or respond to his small, pained breathing. He could scarcely keep his eyes open.

Dream hadn't realized he was shaking, almost uncontrollably; everything began to swirl into nonsense and anxiety as his breathing slowly began to increase, unseen tears pricking his eye sockets.

Fear numbed him as he realized Error wasn't done, and an urge rushed him forward with the glow of his staff warning of the incoming attack.  _"No!"_

The sideways grin the broken skeleton gave him was enough to give him icy chills, though it wasn't the psychopathic glare that stopped him but the horde of threads pushing him to the ground, taking his staff away from him as they ensnared his arms and torso in a cyan web.

 **"temper, temper."** Error snickered, watching the useless struggling as if it were nothing but a game anybody would find hilarious. The staff was just out of his reach. **"i wouldn't do that if i were you... the friend here _did_ tell you not to interfere, and you accepted. don't you know anything about promises?"**

Deeming Dream as a mere nuisance in the background, the broken skeleton turned to Ink; still motionless, hardly breathing, barely hanging on to life.

**"heh, speaking of promises..."**

The downed skeleton could hardly acknowledge his presence, his broken voice sounding like a quiet humming, as if he were underwater. His sight, his hearing, they were weakening. He could almost see his life leaving him.

All he felt was that he was breathing, slowly. And he felt, too, whatever little wind he had being knocked out of him by a foot of black and red slamming down onto his chest.

He didn't have the strength to look up, though his terror was immensely powerful.

 **"unlike other _sanses_ ,"** Error spat the word that should have never had a plural form with hatred, **"i actually like to keep my promises."** He gave Dream a sideways glance. **"and i did say you would watch him die… isn’t that right?"**

He laughed psychotically, grinning further as he watched Dream’s terrified gaze become one of horror.

“No… NO, PLEASE, DON’T!” he cried out in despair, the strings only growing tighter as he tried to break free, retrieve his bound staff cruelly hanging a few feet beside him. His torso burned as the pressure only increased, but he couldn’t afford to care about the pain. “PLEASE, ANYTHING BUT THIS! DON’T KILL HIM!”

The only response his pleads received was a heartless chuckle as Error slowly raised the sharpened bone above his head, aimed straight for the fallen creator's skull.

Ink could no longer open his cracked eye, though the other fluttered half open, weakly. His pupil, a flickering teardrop, was barely visible. He couldn’t say anything. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. All he could do was let his one eye silently beg for mercy.

He only saw a blurred mixture of red, black, and colors he barely recognized before consciousness began to leave him, his little strength vanishing. He only heard laughter and desperate screams as he let his eye close.

He had pushed himself beyond his limits. He had done everything he could. Perhaps he was close to restoring what he had messed up, perhaps he was not, but he had tried, he had given it his best, and he had faced his mistake.

All that was left for him to do was give up to his fate. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nyah- *internal suffering*


	14. But What Was The Answer? {Bad Ending}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He didn't know.
> 
> He simply didn't know.
> 
> He didn't know what to do, what not to do; he didn't know how to react, or how not to, or if to react at all; he didn't know what to think.

Come on, come on,  _come on_ ,  ** _come on._**

The strings were nearly piercing into him like barbed wires as Dream reached out for the bound staff, his arms feeling like they were about to be cut off, his ribs almost being crushed by unbelievable pressure, but he was undeterred.

He couldn't let the pain stop him. Ink's life depended on him more than ever.

Fighting against the powerful strain threatening to shatter his body into mere dust as well as having in mind the swift seconds he had left to do so was almost too much for him, but he never allowed himself to give up.

His fingertips could scarcely reach the star at its end, slightly rocking the weapon; the strings bound around his wrist kept on tightening in an attempt to prevent him from retrieving it, but Dream simply couldn't care. He couldn't let anything stop him, neither Error's taunting chuckle nor the straining pain.

He made one last effort. He  _had_  to reach it. He  _would_  reach it. He  _was going to-_

The brief, yet loud crack of pierced bones and a choked gasp paused his entire world.

Dream hadn't realized he had pulled back from the staff as if he had been shocked, even though his contracted eyes were still looking into it.

He didn't want to watch. He didn't want to believe it…

It... it  _couldn't..._

His head shivered, breathing small and hitched, as his gaze moved towards the other two skeletons, able to do nothing but expect the worst even against his will. The heartless chuckle had stopped, replaced by a silent grin of sickly yellow and a content, crazed stare.

The presence of malice and success in that smile was utterly psychotic, and maddening.

Error's lopsided eyes glared into a single, weak one. Ink was shivering, weakly gagging, unable to breathe. He felt numb, but at the same time a sharp pain he couldn't fight against was slowly engulfing him and it was all he could feel, aside from an endless wave of unbearable terror.

A trembling hand made to reach out for the spiked bone embedded in his chest as it erratically cracked his thorax further, but it never made it that far before it felt completely lifeless. His lone pupil flickered in and out of existence as he attempted in vain to breathe.

Hand still clutching the fatal weapon, Error grinned further, waiting until all life left the former guardian of the multiverse being all that was left for him to do.

His head tilted ever so slightly.  **"see, that wasn't so bad, w͜as҉ ̧it̕?"**

Ink never heard Error, only a strange buzzing that taunted him, laughed at his suffering.

He saw the dark figure of his killer double, then multiply, then disappear as he lacked the strength to continue looking up, and the world spun in aimless directions.

Through the endless blur and black haze, he saw a motionless, blue figure. He tried to say something, but he felt himself cough up the same, reddish black ink that stained his chest as if it were blood.

He wanted to keep breathing. To keep his eye open. He wanted to believe. To live.

He wanted to call out for help... He wanted to warn him... To tell him...

"D... D... re... am..."

But there was nothing for him to hold on to. Everything was slipping away, disappearing, fading, melting...

Everything blurred into blackness.

And slowly, he let his eye close.

Forever.

**"...finally."**

A small gasp as the sharpened bone was violently pulled out was Ink's last sign of life before glinting dust slowly consumed him under a pitiless crimson gaze.

Error's smile only widened as his rival disappeared into ashes. Chuckling, laughing, chortling contently as a soft breeze gently blew the dust away.

Dream fell to his knees, tears welling in his eyes as specks of mere sand flew past his trembling figure. The strings had loosened as there was no more point in keeping him restrained, but he still felt like he was being strangled. A breathless whimper hid his disbelieved words.

Perhaps it was his imagination... but he was almost sure he heard a distant, echoing crash, as if countless windows had shattered somewhere far away, and whatever little color was left in the dying timeline disappeared with a brief wind as a wave of lifeless grey engulfed it completely. 

…why was everything so  _cold?_

He never acknowledged the sadistic skeleton turning to glare at him as he kept his horrified gaze on the small specks of dust that used to be the same skeleton he had vowed to help blowing past him. He couldn’t take his eyes off it.

Something inside him burned. Consumed his will.

Fury. Despair. Grief.

Dream closed his eyes as he tried to stop himself from crying, though the cyan tears rolling down his cheekbones were unbound. His hands slowly curled, taking grey grass with them as he breathed heavily through gritted teeth.

“…no…”

Error only stared him down, waiting.

"H-how...  _how could you_..." he muttered, eyes clenched shut, fists slowly shaking.

He tensed, in both vexation and fear, when he was met with a chuckle for a response. Dark, sinister, malevolent, broken…

He scarcely looked up, though that was enough to freeze his body and shape his aching expression into one of terror.

Only then he noticed Error's stare. Error's sadistic stare. A grin so nightmarish and terrifying that made Dream feel numb staring directly at him, eyes contracted with boundless insanity piercing into him.

The _‘error’_ messages around that monster erratically increased, buzzed faster; parts of Error’s body snapped in and out of reality like a broken program with blood-curdling static noises.

He was losing himself.

**"tho** **͢** **u** **͠** **gh,** **͟** **i** **̧**   **͡** **s** **̶** **t** **̨** **ill** **͢**   **͜** **h** **̡** **àve òn** **̢** **e l** **͟** **a** **͠** **s̀t** **͜**   **́bu** **̢** **g t** **̢** **o ̀get** **̕** **r** **͡** **id o** **͢** **f** **͢** **, do** **̛** **n't** **͜**   **i** **̴...** **?"**

Despite his heavy grief, despite his burning anger, Dream couldn't help himself against the wave of unstoppable fear that invaded him, and he tried to back away before he realized the strings were still holding him – they grew taut as Error approached.

He looked like a demon.

Dream stumbled when the threads prevented him from backing any further; the staff was too far away for him to try and reach it, and Error was standing in the way. All he could do was try to get them off, but his attempts proved to be fruitless.

"G-get away from me!" the plea came out as the same weapon that had taken Ink's life was slowly raised, ready to end his too. "N-no! Stay away! "

He was panicking.

**"a** **w** **̡** **w** **̧** **,** **͜** **co** **͡** **me** **͠** **o** **̨** **n** **̡** **,** **̶** **̡** **d** **͝** **id** **̡** **n'** **͜** **t y** **͟** **ou** **̨** **ca** **̡** **re so** **̧** **muc** **̶** **h f** **͠** **or** **͡** **t** **͞** **ha** **͢** **t pi** **͢** **tiful ar** **̛** **tsy fri** **͢** **en** **͟** **d** **of** **̨** **̸** **yours** **͞** **?** **͜** **͡** **y** **͠** **o** **͘** **u'** **̡** **l** **l** **̛** **b** **̨** **e** **҉** **̢** **jo** **͢** **i** **͏** **ni** **̕** **n** **͜** **g** **͘** **͟** **him soon~** **͜** **"**

The spiked bone struck downwards with a crazed laugh, though Dream was fast enough to, albeit slightly, push himself out of its way as much as the strings allowed him to.

He only wanted to live. It hadn't crossed his mind that the missed strike would snap the threads.

Noting anger build up around Error's insane traits, Dream lost no seconds before prying the remaining slackened strings off before another attack would greet its target. Nothing but the staff on his mind, he propelled forward; unable to avoid a second strike as it merely ripped across the side of his torso, barely reaching one of his ribs.

Swallowing the brief yet sharp sting, he teetered past Error as fast as he could. His hand reached out for the weapon hanging right next to him as if it had a mind of his own, firmly grasping its center and making it glow a determined white; the threads barely holding it were snapped like nothing.

He sidestepped way out of the manic skeleton's reach, and tensed as those piercing eyes turned to glare at him.

Something was still burning within him.

No. If he was going to die, he would die doing what was right. He couldn't be afraid.

Ink hadn't been when he accepted his choice.

Almost as if it were an involuntary action, Dream rushed forward with a golden haze smoking from his eyes and the star ends of his weapon glittering in bright yellow as they charged their magic.

Tightly clutching the bone, Error fully whirled around, the two weapons clashing with a blinding light that send both skeletons back a few steps.

Given that Dream was in silent pain, Error was quicker to recover from the shock, and waited no longer before shooting dozens of strings at the dazzled skeleton; Dream managed to break those he saw coming, except for the four that apparently missed.

Only for them to come back like deadly boomerangs.

Dream heard them rushing through the air, and took the cue to narrowly dodge them; except for a particularly fast moving thread that cut past his sleeve, successfully reaching his humerus.

It burned, but he silenced his own scream as he only winced harshly.

Something was giving him power. Something was refusing to let him give up. Ink had faced his mistakes; it was time for Dream to do so as well.

**"** **̨** **pal** **̧** **.** **̡** **.** **͝** **. j** **ust** **͞** **̴** **d** **͞** **o me** **͡** **a** **͢** **̴** **fa** **͘** **vo** **̴** **r** **̕** **and** **͟** **D** **̵̴** **I** **̷͜͠** **E** **̕͜͜** **.** **̸̷̢͞** **"** **̕̕͜͝͡**

A Gaster Blaster materialized above Error, though Dream heard another one spawn behind him.

Both manic skulls fired at once with ear-piercing blasts, though their glowing beams of hellish temperatures only collided against the fading earth where Dream had stood a second ago, sending flaming shrapnel in every direction.

Dream nearly lost his balance with a brief scream as he quickly moved away from the blast; he had completely forgotten about his unhealed femur, but the sharp ache didn't seem to slow him down. He couldn't lose his focus, because Error had a keen eye planted on any opening he'd get to strike.

**"you** **͘** **r** **͘** **eally** **s** **͘** **h** **̛** **o** **̷** **u** **̶** **l** **̛** **d q** **҉** **u** **̕** **i** **t** **҉** **.** **͘** **j** **̴** **us** **̵** **t** **͏** **a** **̸** **bo** **̢** **ut** **͏** **n** **͢** **o** **̢** **w."**

The caped skeleton readied himself, breathing heavily, as a chain of blasters materialized above Error, one after the other, their eyes of murderous intent staring straight at him.

He knew he wouldn't be able to deflect them all, so he prepared to endure more treacherous stings from his damaged leg once he was forced to jump back.

All the fanged maws exploded into deadly lasers, and despite the pain, Dream nimbly jumped back, the shockwave from the explosive collision waving his cape as he conjured his magic into an unseen attack.

As soon as he landed with a sharp wince, he violently swung his hand horizontally, an arch-shaped projectile of bright yellow shooting from it at a terrifying speed, cutting through the smoke curtain.

It held all his mixed emotions, and hatred was leading them.

Error never saw it coming, and it disintegrated into golden sparkles as it brutally struck his ribcage.

The impact felt harder than a rock thrown at him. Wind knocked out of him, Error arched as the violent impact began to painfully extend, falling on one knee. He questioned if every single one of his ribs had been shattered, because it truly felt like so.

The little smoke that remained soon cleared out, revealing Dream’s furious figure.

His staff was still glowing; he had a chance to finally end all the chaos.

But, seeing the other skeleton in pain, realizing the aimless fight they were having, noticing how much _he_ was damaging the timeline… something on his expression changed, and the haze illuminating his eyes slowly dimmed.

What… what _was_ he doing…?

His narrowed eyes slowly blinked into a disbelieved stare as erratic breaths came out of him, a small step back taken as he loosened his grip on the staff.

No…

No, violence wasn’t the correct answer…

…a fight wouldn’t bring Ink back… Hatred brought nobody back...

“No… This… this isn’t…” He glanced at his weapon as if it weren’t his own, turning around with a hand over his forehead as his eyes closed. “I’m… I’m sorry, Ink…”

He didn't know.

He simply didn't know.

He didn't know what to do, what not to do; he didn't know how to react, or how not to, or  _if_ to react at all; he didn't know what to think.

He was scared. He was furious. He was despaired.

He didn't know how to cope with the massive weight that was pulling him down into desperation. He didn't know how to get away from it, how to fight it. All he knew was that he felt small. He felt useless.

But what was he to do? If he didn't fight, Error would kill him... But it was too late to redeem him. It was too late...  _too late... for **everything**..._

He hardly acknowledged the strings tying around his foot, but he felt his panic increase when they pulled him back; the wind was knocked out of him as his damaged ribcage met the ground.

He grunted, shaking his head, before turning to look at Error; still grinning despite not having fully recovered from the brutal hit.

A Gaster Blaster was floating above him as he regained his breath, and he slowly moved his twitching gaze up.

**"i** **̶** **͟** **b** **̛** **elie** **͜** **ve** **͏** **it's** **̨** **t** **̡** **ime** **to** **͡** **cl** **̧** **e** **͜** **an** **̕** **t** **̴** **h** **͘** **e** **͞** **ga** **̢** **r** **҉** **b** **͠** **a** **͟** **ge,** **͝** **͢** **r** **̶** **i** **͟** **ght,** **͞** **bu** **͜** **ddy** **҉** **?** **͢** **"**

Those dreaded, ice-cold chills of pure fright as a bright light engulfed the shadowed skull’s maw made Dream feel like he was fighting alone against a merciless gale, but he didn’t have time to react before the strings suddenly pulled him towards the other skeleton.

_Right as the beam fired-_

 

. . .

 

**"̙̹ͅͅs͎w̹̩̲͇̬̙͖͜e̞e͓t̤̞̩̮̜̘͇͝ ͔͉̣̻̤̗̫dr҉̱̻̭̘̠̟e̴͉̰̙ͅa̟̙̪͚̱͠ms̹͔̭̪.̳̼͇̼͉͜"̛̯̝̱̥͚ͅ**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *breathes in* aaaAAAAA-
> 
> Point number one, screw my exams for keeping me off AO3.  
> Point number two, screw my sister for making sad AUs.
> 
> Yes there is another ending! I uploaded this first because it was shorter and I've been working more on it and it's the bad one... oh and believe me, the next one hits you harder in the feels so get your tissues ready.
> 
> I had a bad time writing this... now excuse me while I go watch kitties on YouTube. If it softens the hit, this is more of an open ending... slightly... ;-;


	15. Here For You {True Ending: Part 1}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream did hesitate, but he knew what he was fighting for. He wasn't willing to lose anything else; everyone had suffered enough, and there was still a chance. No one else would lose their life. If fighting was all that was left... so be it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The True Ending was originally going to be all in one chapter, but it's a little too long and felt too cramped, so it'll be split in two.
> 
> Hopefully the next part of this feel train won't take long to come out. ^-^"

Come on, come on, _come on, **come on.**_

The strings were nearly piercing into him like barbed wires as Dream reached out for the bound staff, his arms feeling like they were about to be cut off, his ribs almost being crushed by unbelievable pressure, but he was undeterred.

He couldn't let the pain stop him. Ink's life depended on him more than ever.

Fighting against the powerful strain threatening to shatter his body into mere dust as well as having in mind the swift seconds he had left to do so was almost too much for him, but he never allowed himself to give up.

His fingertips could scarcely reach the star at its end, slightly rocking the weapon; the strings bound around his wrist kept on tightening in an attempt to prevent him from retrieving it, but Dream simply couldn't care. He couldn't let anything stop him, neither Error's taunting chuckle nor the straining pain.

He made one last effort. He _had_ to reach it. He _would_ reach it. He _was going to reach it._

And he did.

A psychopathic grin on his face, Error was seconds away from delivering the final blow when a scalding projectile of gold exploded against his raised arm, disintegrating the sharp bone and sending him back a few steps with a complaining grunt.

Quickly recovering from the unsuspected attack and briefly glancing at his buzzing hand, Error shook his head and glowered at the nosy skeleton who had once again had the audacity to stop him with pure hatred written on his expression, but Dream wasn't faced by the murderous glare as he stood his ground in a furious fighting stance.

"Stay away from him," he growled quietly, slowly, maintaining a spiteful look of warily narrowed eyes on Error as he made his way in front of Ink, his grip on the staff as firm as if it were his own life.

Worryingly wounded, Ink remained motionless; the only movement he made was a small roll to his side in a silently desperate attempt to keep his suffering spine off the ground and hopefully decrease the sharp pain, though all he was granted access to was a light ease to breathe.

**"you know...** **i'm̡** **͏g͞e͠ttin͢g _r̕e͟ally͡_ t͢i͠re̛d** **͢o͏f͠** **̀y͘ou.̶"**

True insanity was taking over any little specks of common sense Error retained. He had completely dropped his mocking attitude, his voice breaking itself into a threatening garble, his asymmetric eyes showing nothing but hatred and psychopathy.

He had always been menacing, but right then, he looked horrifying.

Dream did hesitate, but he knew what he was fighting for. He wasn't willing to lose anything else; everyone had suffered enough, and there was still a chance. No one else would lose their life. If fighting was all that was left... so be it.

With an irritated sigh, Error began pacing around them. The glare Dream was giving him was capable of wilting flowers, of burning through him, but he steered right past it as if it were a mere glance. He was still smiling despite everything, hands back in his pockets as if the situation around him was a walk in the park.

**"is it really that hard to make things right?"** he asked rhetorically into nothing, his broken voice feigning a sweet tone that Dream scowled at. **"don't be stupid. i mean, _look_ around you. what exactly are you trying to save?"**

Warily, Dream's eyes risked a brief glance at the chaotic scenario that enveloped everything within it with despair, mindful of not letting a surprise attack catch him off guard.

For a second, a second that stung him with fire… he actually _considered_ those garbled words.

Every single core universe as well as the most populated and visited ones were gone for good; nothing of use, nothing that retained memories, remained within the Doodle Sphere aside from the unfinished universes. The whole timeline was falling apart, and it was likely completely helpless.

Only to worsen matters, neither Ink nor Dream could live without the multiverse. Perhaps Ink was alive, but it was a fact that his life was coming to an end regardless of Error taking it or not; and so was Dream's, even if his exposure to risk was considerably lower.

Feeling silent tears trying to make their way out, Dream glanced at the wounded creator beside him. It really was a miracle that he was even alive after everything, but he knew he wouldn't make it through. His heart wrenched when he thought Ink probably knew so too.

Suddenly, all he had gone through began to hurt like open cuts exposed to fire. All that fighting, all that trying… what had it been for? They were so close, yet so far… Even after Dream's countless attempts to set things right, even after Ink's will to keep going… it all went wrong anyways…

He couldn't hold on to any type of positiveness... because all glee in the multiverse was gone.

Dream didn't see Error smiling at his grieving silence as he averted his lost gaze.

He chuckled, **"see? there is nothing to understand or save anymore. all i see here is a so-called 'sans' that wants to save… how could i call it… a̶n͢** **̕en͞d͝le̕s̷s ̢p͟i̷l̷e ͞of͞ g̷arbag̀e. what could _possibly_ be so important, mh?"**

Dream still remained silent, and his eyes closed in despaired meditation.

"You just couldn't let it go… Could you…?"

There was a small, interested frown of crimson, one that Dream paid no attention to.

"Why are you so bent on killing him...? On killing _us?_ Do you have _any idea_ of how much you've made us suffer? And for _what?_ To cause even more pain to countless people? Couldn't you just _leave things alone?_ "

**"tsk tsk tsk... look, buddy, i don't do things just because. we've been through this once, and i really don't like repeating myself. but, since you're just saddening to look at, i'll make you an exception. i didn't start this. i never even thought i'd get in here, ever. of course, mister rainbow here couldn't keep his corniness to himself and had to manage his way into the anti-void like some sort of superhero. well, now we're equal. he thinks he can win? fine! i think i can win too, and here we are."**

His grin was backed by silence as he stopped pacing, several feet away from Dream. His sight was planted on the dematerializing timeline all around him. As if destruction was something he found relaxing, he let his eyes close.

**"see, if there is anything that bothers me more than your everyday glitch is one that thinks he can keep them alive. and that includes you, too. i just can't have freaks like you running around and interfering with my job. in the end, it feels like nobody is progressing. i destroy, he creates, you fix; what's the point of anything, then? there's no balance here, just an endless loop. _and that's not how things work."_**

Dream finally brought himself to look up at Error, weakly, hiding his pained tears with narrowed eyes. "You really don't know anything about the multiverse... Do you know why there's no 'balance'? Because you were _never_ meant to do this."

He was glared at with a scornful scowl. "...Ink and I were _made_ to keep the multiverse alive. We never doubted... we _knew_ what we had to do. But you... you were just an ordinary Sans, weren't you?" He never noticed the shifting expression on the other skeleton. "Don't you understand...? All this pointless killing, all this destruction... it's benefiting nobody. Can't you see? You're losing yourself!"

Error startled at the sudden raise of voice, but kept his gaze narrowed and menacing. Dream heaved a sigh to let go of the sudden burst of anger that had enveloped him, and blinked slowly, "You don't know how many people have tried to help you... and all they got back was pain and death. I just wanted you to understand... This is going _nowhere_. All you do is hurt... have you never questioned why?"

Certainly, the small snicker after the brief silence broke him.

**"i've heard this so many times it's not even amusing at this point. yes, maybe i am 'losing myself', but it's actually rather helpful, you know? if you have this kind of job, you'd better bring yourself to enjoy it. think what you want, but you're useless trash, and nothing will ever change that. all of you exist for _nothing,_ and that is an issue i have to correct _._ i have no reason to feel bad about what i do."**

Dream felt an urging will to snap, but he fought against it.

**"i do understand you. you live your life, you help people, you make friends... of course you think your existence is all good and fine, but the harsh reality is that it's _not._ " **His voice began breaking, albeit lightly, but it gave off a tense feeling. **"the multiverse was never supposed to be a thing. there is only _one_ world. anything else is just a copy, a _fraud_ , harmful and unnecessary. _especially you and ink_."**

Golden eyes of sorrowed disbelief glanced down, and closed.

"...all lies." Dream muttered, clear hatred darkening his voice. "That's just a mindset. A wrong idea. Alternate universes have never hurt anybody, nor are they mistakes. They have the same right to live as you do. Just because we are different doesn't mean we are wrong."

**"oh, cut the chattering."** Error snapped, making the other skeleton slightly jolt. **"don't think i'm _that_ naïve. i know what you're playing at. you're trying to make me feel bad, make me think about my 'wrongdoings'… blah, blah, blah. thanks for being the millionth monster to try this."**

Dream's eyes narrowed as the glitch grinned further. **"so now, since you've gotten the point, how about you just let me put you two out of your misery so i can cleanse this place from all the garbage that walking rainbow and his imaginary multiversal people left behind?"**

But the caped skeleton stood his ground with a silent, challenging growl. The stars adorning his weapon began to gain a dangerous, white glow as his grip on it increased.

"You will not kill _anybody else."_

…

**"y̡òur̕** **f̧̡u̵͝n͞͡ęr̶̀ą̕ĺ̡͜."̕**

But before any of the two skeletons could unleash their attacks, a voice that had never been heard in that collapsing timeline before stopped them on their tracks, replacing their anger with gnawing curiosity and intrigue.

_"Stop!"_

It was a lifeless voice, like a child who had lost their will, but it didn't fail at sounding deeply concerned. Certainly, Error seemed to recognize it straight away, and its presence didn't appear to bother him. If anything, he almost seemed thrilled.

After a small pause, he turned around as Dream looked up in confusion at the monochromatic human standing behind them, their eyeless expression one of heavy concern.

_"Please… that is enough fighting."_

**"…you…"**

Error snickered, contently, as he glared at Core with an amused expression; Dream seemed unable to move as he questioned how and why the little child had gotten there.

**"just when i thought i'd have to search all over for you once i terminated this insignificant timeline… that was pretty nice of you."**

Valiantly, though with visible specks of fear, Core stepped up, their expression unreadable. _"Forget it, Error. You know I cannot die."_

**"tsh, i know that. i don't need to kill you… just keep you around until you show me your little glitch sanctuary."**

_"That can be arranged, in a way."_

Core's bottomless eyes seemed to narrow ever so slightly as they calmly walked between the two with a low gaze of rumination in an attempt to drive their attention fully away from an incoming fight.

Error's expression was a mixture of puzzlement and amused hatred; he couldn't help but wonder just what the human was _even_ thinking. It would be greatly appreciated, but the broken skeleton knew Core wasn't stupid enough to just gift him his way into that dreaded timeline.

They stayed silent for a moment, then took a small breath in, " _…this has gone on for long enough._ " They turned to look at Error, their eyes appearing to stare into nothing yet everything. _"I came here to end this, once and for all."_

Error broke into a sneering laugh, one that Core remained expressionless against. Even Dream looked utterly perplexed at their statement. **"of course, of course."** he taunted, before giving them a cheeky look. **"you and who else?"**

The monochromatic human pulled a lopsided smile; it wasn't shown in a mocking way, but rather in a hopeful one. _"Them."_

Their head seemed to lightly gesture ahead, and the grin of sickly yellow faltered as Error offered whatever stood behind him a sideways glance. Of course, he hadn't expected to see a few old friends standing there; some from across the multiverse, others from the Omega.

From the ridiculed world of Underswap, Papyrus stood defiantly, his outside attitude nonchalant but his inner self raging like wildfire. From the nonexistent world of Underfell, Frisk and Flowey seemed no longer afraid of the same skeleton who had nearly taken their life, accompanied by the only other wise enough to heed their warning – Toriel.

Geno and Fresh had joined too, driven by personal choices that greatly differed from the others' reasons to do something as unthinkable; empathy and a wish to live, respectively. The Chara from Storyshift, left on their own and alive only because of Core, accompanied the small army of a common enemy too, with pained hatred shining through their eyes.

For once, Error seemed to have lost his confidence. His eyes widened ever so slightly, everlasting grin curving down at the corners with uncertainty as he eyed the group, but the feeling of being belittled went past him like a breeze.

The shock only lasted a few seconds before he chuckled and turned to look back at Core.

**"really? that's your magnificent plan? to bring some of the last few glitches i needed to get rid of straight to me? wow, thanks, pal. you're being actually helpful for once."**

"think of it as more of a personal grudge, _friend_." Error sideways glanced at the same Papyrus clad in orange he had nearly driven to insanity for the sake of keeping what he called a trophy bitterly; the artistic miracle that had reunited both brothers in the past was dying, fact that he acknowledged and further infuriated him. "it wasn't the kid's idea to come, it was _ours_."

Despite the notable, tense hostility coming from the taller skeleton, Error nonchalantly shrugged, **"welp, proves your stupidity."**

"yeah, we're pretty stupid, but, y'know... we're all sanses." Geno mocked, fearless of its consequences as he smirked passively, looking to the side; the insulting insinuation didn't go past Error – or past Fresh.

"Woo, y'totally _burned_ him, brah." he laughed with intentionally exaggerated enthusiasm, so much that Geno questioned if he was being sarcastic as he was punched on the shoulder.

Chara merely rolled their eyes, perhaps in less of a mood for childishness than Error himself was as one of his eyes twitched in response to the laughable act that failed miserably at telling him that he was about to be struck by karma.

"Can we get to the point _please_?" Underfell's Frisk tiredly commented, the flower around their shoulder seeming content with the lack of violence for the time being. The child felt Toriel's snow white hand on their other shoulder slightly grow tense. "I wanna tell this guy a _couple_ of things!"

Seeing everyone relatively prepared, Error let his eyes close in thought; probably thinking of all the ways he could and would kill those pesky bugs. **"heh... l̡e͠t'͢s̵** **͞da͘nc͟ę th͝e͢n,̕** **̴sh̀all̶** **̡w͞e?"**

The battle began immediately, the fire fed by Error's impatience to finish what he had started long ago, and Core took the ongoing fight as the most adequate moment to back off with a perplexed Dream, still trying without success to figure out what had happened in just a senseless minute.

"W-what... Core, what are you... How-"

_"Long story. I have been watching everything, though I never understood the gravity of the situation until the very end as I am unable to see what happens in this timeline. With help from our refugees, we managed to find our way in here. We knew you wouldn't be able to fight Error on your own, and some people truly wanted to end this conflict."_

Under Dream's pondering glance, the colorless human kneeled beside Ink; the other skeleton mimicked their action slowly, mostly to relieve the aching pressure his snapped femur was still fighting against. He still didn't dare to waste his magic on something he could live with.

_"...how many?"_

The caped monster blinked. "How many what?"

_"How many universes have been destroyed?"_

Pained silence.

Dream looked up, only to see destruction and a fight that seemed endless. He knew why Core wanted to know how many people had disappeared from the multiverse, and he couldn't help but narrow his eyes in sorrow.

"...too many."

"…"

"…do you think...?"

The monochromatic child moved their gaze down, solemnly, to cause more grief being their last wish but their only choice. Dream's expectant gaze made it extremely hard for them to utter a single word. _"He will not make it... but we can still give him time. As to how much, I don't know… but we need that time."_

Dream sighed quietly, trying not to let rampant tears show; he noticed how Ink's vials had turned to a full greyscale again, not a single speck of power left.

No... not only a greyscale... They were straight up blackening. The blue lines across his clothing had also lost their color, and he just looked overall pale, his life vanishing along with the timeline he had tried in vain to protect.

Dream heaved another sigh, heavier, with closed eyes, and opened them as he looked back. The battle was lively, tainted by mutual hatred; bones, fireballs and debris flew in every known direction, and blasters of all shapes and sizes burst each other into sparkling ashes as they tried to hit fast moving targets.

"...do you really think they can win? He's gained too much LOVE..." Dream quietly commented, worry practically flooding his voice even if he was trying his best to hide it.

_"Error's stats are null. I don't think it's a possibility to kill him, but we just want him to quit, give the survivors a chance. The multiverse is condemned at this point, I'm afraid, but we can still make it persist for longer if we drive him away from here."_

A blast collided dangerously close to them, though they only flinched as its hot air waved their clothing. Core felt a burst of scalding panic shoot all the way across their translucent body like electricity, but they remained strong. Fear was the last thing everyone needed.

Do not think about the explosions…

"...thank you."

The colorless human looked up; Dream wasn't looking at them, but they smiled sympathetically either way. They knew how heavy the grief he was carrying was; they had seen giant amounts of it in their timeline, and knew how to handle those hurt by cruel hypocrisy.

Though, perhaps, that time was entirely different. They weren't talking about a Sans who had lost his Papyrus, or vice versa; they weren't talking about a Toriel who had lost her family; they were talking about two of the most, if not _the_ most important beings to the multiverse, who were losing everything – including their own lives.

What happened to them would influence everything and everyone.

_"We must work together now. If there is something that can be done to save the multiverse, we will fight for it."_

They did oversee that small smile in response, but it seemed hard for Dream to muster an actual hopeful expression. And considering that faith and positivity were the factors that kept him alive, that was most definitely an ongoing problem.

Both skeleton and human looked back, startled, when a seemingly exhausted Papyrus slid back a few feet behind them, pushed by a narrowly missed blaster that had reached the side of his jacket with a black gash. "damn... he's getting stronger." he muttered between slight pants.

Wary of not fully turning his back on a possible explosion or flying projectile, the much taller skeleton looked at them with a mild expression.

His black eyes were paying most of their attention to Ink. There was great empathy flowing through his black gaze; after all, he had never been able to even thank him for bringing his little brother back before he vanished through a gap of swirling colors.

He regarded Dream's fight against his own grief. He knew what it felt like to be about to lose someone they truly cared for.

"...how's he doing?" he quietly asked, not receiving an answer until a few seconds, flooded with notable worry and sadness and the sounds of the battle in the background, went by.

Even though nobody wanted to admit so, with slow, pained breaths, it wasn't a high possibility that Ink would even open his eyes again. There was still hope, but it was minor... Dream held on to it anyways. It was all there was for him to hold on to there.

"Can't assure anything..." he finally sighed.

It was certainly strange to see him so lifeless, concerned. Nothing seemed right anymore.

Papyrus mildly moved his head down in thought, his eyes still gentle though they soon shaped into a furious scowl as he submerged in burning memories. "he's not getting away with this."

A Gaster Blaster above him and a flaming haze of orange smoking from his eye, he charged back into battle. The fight seemed to be losing its balance; everyone was getting tired, but Error could clearly keep going for days. As sadistic as his desire to kill made him, he was enjoying the fight that slowly took his side.

Core wished they had realized the major issue sooner. Error was lost beyond help.

And as the battle continued on, Ink finally showed signs of life with a light, pained stir and a clench of eyes, small movement that meant the world for Dream as his pupils briefly twinkled with renewed hopes.

The artist's eye slowly fluttered open; the other was permanently closed by the crack once again.

He saw a shapeless mixture of colors and blackness, but he eventually focused his sight enough to recognize the skeleton and human beside him. Certain child had taken most of his puzzled attention, and he managed to frown between shaky intakes of breath.

"...C... Core...?"

_"Yes, I have come to help... Keep your energy now, you need it."_

Through a cloud of pure confusion and distant pain, Ink squinted at the sharp stings of the bright lights ahead as lasers exploded and collided against the disrupted timeline; unrecognizable figures jumped and rushed to and fro through the smoke and blasts.

"What... what's going on...?"

Dream briefly looked over his shoulder, to the chaos bursting behind them, before glancing back at the fallen creator with a bittersweet, lopsided smile of small faith and great sadness. "Those you saved... remember? They're helping us now."

Ink couldn't see what was happening around him with clarity, couldn't see who exactly was fighting for him, but words were all he needed to pull a small smile as he carefully rested his head down, his lack of strength numbing him. "They... don't... h-have to..."

He flinched when he again felt the sharp ache stinging his badly damaged spine and thorax, but felt, too, the gentle and reassuring though cold touch of Core's hand on his shoulder. "I... don't want... a-anyone... to risk their life for me... I... I don't... d-deserve it..." His consciousness flickered on and off like a malfunctioning lightbulb.

Before Dream or Core could utter a word, the explosion of two blasters too close for comfort burst a few feet next to them, and their attention was brought to the fight as it apparently stopped with burnt shrapnel floating down above them. That time, the child couldn't help themselves as they threw their hands over their head in panic.

They should have known they would be exposed to one of their biggest fears… but they couldn't let that make them give up.

Everyone stood between the trio and Error, tired out of their life, except for Fresh who seemed to show a little more feistiness than needed. He hadn't been hit at all; too much of a hyperactive, surprisingly cunning target for Error to focus on.

Papyrus and Chara were heavily exhausted. Frisk and Flowey had taken cover behind their heavy breathing motherly figure, and Geno kept himself ready for whatever was to come next. They all had minor burn marks, a few gashes on their clothes here and there; Frisk bore a visible small cut on their forehead.

Error, too, breathed heavily, the unnatural words forever crowding him buzzing quietly but audibly; parts of him that had been almost fully hit by the monsters' unbridled attacks faded in and out of existence with eerie static, indicating injury.

He was still grinning, and his eyes showed nothing but heartlessness and fulfillment as he stared the monsters and humans down.

**"not bad. not bad at all… good thing i tampered with my strength a little before this, huh?"**

Most of his opponents growled at seeing him completely unfazed by their rage; watching the scene, Dream had a tight hold on his staff, not being part of the fight hurting him more than any of his wounds. He wasn't planning on healing them anytime soon; he wanted to be ready in case the fight came to involve him, and he had used much of his magic before.

But something prevented him from aiding the others. He wasn't willing to leave Ink without much needed protection; he was still the main target. And so was Dream himself.

He regarded Core's frightened presence as he glowered at the glitching skeleton. Ink, still conscious, seemed majorly distressed knowing that Error lingered, mostly unharmed and willing to end him.

**"well, that's been fun."** Error looked at his hand, flexing his phalanges tied in dangling bits of string. Despite everything, his broken voice still spoke calmly. " **but i think i've been going easy enough on you. it's about time you all get a little lesson on when to q̧͢͜͠u̵̡̕i̴͞t̵͘."**

His uneven pupils disappeared, leaving his eye sockets as mere puddles of crimson in an endless sea of black.

Tension and anticipation was notable as two Gaster Blasters were summoned several feet right above him, staring directly at the group as they charged lethal energy inside their maws; however, seconds before they would actually fire, the skulls tilted down and fired straight at the ground beside Error.

Raging hot smoke and flying strands of grey grass and dirt covered everyone's field of view like a sandstorm, forcing them to cover their faces however they could as the wind waved their clothing and even pulled the smallest ones back.

Trying not to lose their eyesight, their focus on their magic completely disappeared.

Through the distraction, they didn't hear the ghastly creaks of magical strings rushing across the smoke like cunning hunters, out of sight.

Nobody could react in time as they shot towards them at the speed of light, successfully entangling the momentarily blinded fighters; only Fresh seemed to have realized what Error was planning, though his maneuver to get out of the way with a somersault ended with him hanging by an entangled leg.

They all tried to break free, summon their magic to shatter the painful hold; but the strings were too strong, and disabled their powers as if they had been taken away from them.

Dream, Ink and Core, untouched by the threads, could do nothing but stare up with almost visible fear.

_"No…"_ the colorless human muttered through a cracking, heavily distraught voice submerged in guilt as they took a step back; Dream gritted his teeth at hearing Error's victorious chuckle.

**" _this,_ is why you pay attention to _everything_ during a fight." **he scoffed, shaking his head as if he were scolding clueless children. **"poor, sad excuses for monsters… thinking they had a chance. that they could kill me. heh. _what a joke."_**

The strings tightened, remaining dangerously taut as the broken skeleton turned his attention towards the others without concern for the pained yelps of the bound monsters. Leaving the strings restraining monsters and humans attached to the blackening sky, he had no second thoughts before sending more of them towards Core.

Not used to physical contact, they flinched as a bundle of threads suddenly wrapped around their forearm, pulling them forth as Dream jolted in shock. The human was violently released from the threads, hurled like a ragdoll and ending several feet behind Error though they were unscathed and showed no signs of pain; it still took them a moment to recover.

Shaking their head to clear it from the dizziness, more strings came to hold them just as they got up. Although their body became intangible when put under pressure, the skeleton's magic seemed to defy their own physics and made them unable to slip away from the strings' grip, contributing to their growing panic.

Despite their distress, they only received a friendly, "Yo." from Fresh, hanging upside-down next to them, as he pointed a single finger gun at them. His unwanted reassurance was obviously ignored by the nearly panicking human, focused on their own anguish.

Taking Dream's distraction as he focused on Core and the others as a perfect chance to finally end a mess that had gone on for too long, Error summoned several strings that barreled towards him at terrifying speed; noticing them as they were inches away from him, Dream could only brace for the incoming strain knowing he would have no time to dodge the attack…

…but felt nothing.

Quickly looking back up, he noticed that the strings hadn't stopped nor had they tied him up; they had gone through his chest and arms, somehow not sprouting behind him. It didn't hurt; he didn't even feel that they were there. They had simply attached to him.

He tried to pry them off with more confusion than fear driving his movements, only to notice that they wouldn't let go of whatever kind of hold they had gotten on him. It was as if they were a part of him.

**"you know…"**

He glared at Error, an indecisive hand still gripping the strings. Even though there was no pain or discomfort around him, he still had a feeling that something was most definitely not right. The broken skeleton had a static, unreadable smile on his face as he glanced at his phalanges wrapped in strings.

**"there are a lot of tricks i haven't tried out on someone… and i've wanted to pull this one in particular off for a long time. i was just waiting for someone worthy of it."**

His inscrutable grin soon became menacing, but Dream had no time to question what those strings holding on to him could possibly do before Error harshly curled his hand and slightly pulled back.

He focused his magic into something stronger that he had hardly ever used; the threads attached to his fingers began to gain a cyan glow that quickly and gradually covered the entirety of the blue lines as if they were charging.

In just a second, the caped skeleton found himself screaming when a powerful, unbearable electric current began to flow through him; each of the strings attached to him shot blue webs of electricity across him as merciless magic reached them, and Dream was promptly brought to his knees, losing his grip on the staff as his limbs went numb.

It went on for what seemed like hours, but the vicious shock stopped and left him gasping for air.

Everyone went silent in horror, Dream breathing heavily as Error merely laughed in amusement. **"why have i never thought of using this before? it's way more effective than i expected it to be!"**

Greatly worried and frightened, Ink managed to shakily move his trembling gaze towards Dream. He tried to get up, but his arms wouldn't respond and the one that had previously been snapped felt broken and static once more. Millions of invisible knives stabbed through him whenever he tried to move.

He wanted, _needed_ to do something, but the fact that he could hardly even move destroyed him. Something was telling him to stand up, something didn't let him give up… but he simply _could not._ Not anymore. Not anymore…

Through the blur, and focusing on the blue blob beside him, he couldn't see the glare of crimson sockets and mismatched pupils glancing at him, but he did see the strings shooting towards him and winced as he awaited more pain to come without power to do anything else.

Much like in Dream's case, the threads only attached themselves to him, and it was then when Ink could recognize the shape of a pitiless grin.

Through a pause of disbelief, he tried in vain to get away from the threads in searing panic, but he still couldn't move without bringing more suffering to himself. The caped skeleton, steadily recovering from the deathly shock, realized how things would end for the both of them if he didn't do something. _Anything._

"N-No... Leave him alone!"

Dream managed to get up even if his numbed legs begged him not to, but Error was quick to predict his next move and sent his newfound magic through the strings again, mildly and briefly electrocuting the hopeless skeleton just enough to make him lose his footing with a pained shriek.

**"since our little story is about to end... how about we play a game to actually conclude it? we'll call it... _l͠et'ş see ͠who͏ o̵f ͝the t̢wǫ_** **_̵'g͏uar̵d̷ian̕s' ̡d̢įes f_** ** _҉_** ** _irs͟t."_**

Laughing under everyone's horrified glances, endless magic flowed through the strings with the only purpose of killing, surrounding the two skeletons in blue webs of merciless electricity as the both of them screamed in agony and tried their best to get away from the pain.

Lopsided pupils further contracted as Error watched the duo he had been hunting down for so long die, slowly, painfully, in front of him, down at his mercy and unable to even beg for it.

Despite the nightmarish pain, Dream still tried to crawl towards his forgotten weapon in a desperate attempt to break the strings, but his intentions were promptly noticed and the powerful current slowly taking his life increased to successfully stop him.

Core and Papyrus fought against the strings in desperation; the others simply couldn't move, but in the end, their efforts gave them the same results.

**"i know... death is pretty _shocking_ , huh?" **Error closed his eyes; it soon became clear that the two skeletons were slipping away from consciousness, death hardly far away from taking them.

It was likely that they only had mere seconds left...

…and he stopped, the threads snapping with a brief sparkle as his magic was abruptly ceased.

Any struggle from the bound monsters and humans behind him came to a puzzled halt, the deeply concerned group trying to figure out why Error hadn't finished the job when he had the most open of chances to do so.

Surprisingly, none of the two skeletons had fallen victim to the powerful onslaught of magic. At least, it looked like so; Dream was gasping for breath, but Ink barely moved. From that distance, nobody could tell if he was breathing at all, and they only expected the worst.

Error calmly padded towards them, not even being looked at. He doubted any of the two could even hear him as he stood a couple of feet in front of their agonizing figures, eyeing them with sadistic contentment.

**"how pitiful… here are the so called protectors of the multiverse, not even able to defend themselves even with help from the same crybabies they try to save."** he taunted, not yet being regarded.

He offered the two a respective look. It surprised him that Ink was still holding on, but barely; he seemed fragile as glass, shivering and coughing up reddish ink that acted like blood, his chest barely rising with each erratic breath he took.

Brief, inconsistent currents would still flash through Dream from time to time, making him wince harshly as he tried with despaired effort to hold on to his slipping consciousness. It seemed like the colorless grass around him blackened further.

**"i know you'll thank me. someone as sad as you two are shouldn't even think of doing something as stupid as 'saving the multiverse'."**

Dream's shivering figure managed to look at him, shakily pushing himself up. His eyes were barely open and narrowed in ongoing pain. As soon as his swimming sight met the black skeleton in front of him, he was greeted by a flash of red as a bone violently collided too close to his eye, sending him to the ground.

Error smirked at the crack near the clenched eye socket.

**"now then… l͟e͞t̛'͝s put̀ an͞ en͏d͞ to ̧a͜ll t͜h̵is͘ n͝onse̛nse̛-"**

**_"I wouldn't do that if I were you."_ **

And then, silence.


	16. Hurting for a Very Hurtful Pain {True Ending: Part 2}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "i don't care what you came here for. what happens here is my business now, and you're not just gonna get away with ruining everything."
> 
> Dream didn't know if Error was aware of the huge brave idiot he was unnecessarily being, but that was his last concern when Nightmare faced the reckless rival with nothing but murder intent flashing in his eye.
> 
> "We'll see about that."

Startled at a whispering voice that sent ice cold chills through his corrupted body like a gentle yet treacherous blow of frozen air, Error slowly looked behind him, as so did the the others.

Much to everyone's surprise, and dismay for that matter, it was a tar skeleton that had completely changed the timeline's atmosphere, and brought irrational fear upon them, and silenced everything; even saved two monsters from certain death without a will to help them.

Otherwise known as Nightmare.

 ** _"If anyone is ever going to kill that wimp, it will be me."_** the unsought newcomer calmly stated, circling below the dangling monsters and gradually gaining distance on an indecisive Error; each step he took wilted and melted the fading grass below him, leaving a trail of despair.

It was _then_ when the glitched skeleton no longer seemed so confident in himself; his grin had completely faded into a frown of uncertainty, his eyes never taking their sight off the much more menacing monster stepping about. He hardly even remembered the dying skeletons' existence behind him and could only focus on the new threat.

He mentally cursed everything that could possibly be cursed. If there was _one_ being in the entirety of the multiverse that could practically rip his head off without hardly even trying was that walking, ominous mass of goop that he hadn't been eager to come across again.

That wasn't their first encounter, and he wished they had never had to see each other's face again.

"Ey, who's the Slenderman?" Fresh nonchalantly asked, rocking himself back and forth as if he, along with everyone else, wasn't in terrible danger.

"Slender- what...?" Chara questioned in the background, their face one of arrogant curiosity. Papyrus rolled his eyes in irritation; the only reason that multicolor parasite hadn't received a punch to the face by courtesy of his fist was because the time hadn't yet been right.

Core seemed to be the only one truly distraught by the new presence for the time being; at least, the one enough to visibly show it.

_"...we are so dead."_

All eyes were trained on him as Nightmare slowly stopped, a single pupil of blue glaring directly at Error. He was a little too close for comfort as he took a patient glance at the disaster, glaring at the bound monsters as they stared back in deep concern, an almost amused eye aimed at the heavily injured skeletons.

He looked at it all, then back at Error like a proud teacher would look at his student. And yet, there was that faint hint of disappointment and even fury swimming through his single eye.

**_"Looks like you've had your share of fun."_ **

He was grinning in the same, unsettling way Error had been just a moment ago, his whispering voice of darkness sounding composed yet threatening, as if he would snap at a single word uttered incorrectly.

The broken skeleton took a small step back as he was glared at, eyes narrowed; Nightmare could feel his and everyone's fear, tension, anticipation, increasing each second that ticked by. It delighted him.

He advanced calmly with a small, sinister snigger, standing between Error and the other two with a vigilant, mocking eye watching Dream as he tried to regain a grip on consciousness. The glitched skeleton was constantly watchful of keeping a prudent distance from that thing.

Oblivious to the world around him and with a major headache, Dream managed to push himself up on all fours, his numbed arms trembling like twigs and forcing him to limply sit up, his entire body feeling cramped. Everything around him hurt and spun around; he could barely recognize the mixed shapes of the scenario.

A hand was brought next to his eye as he felt an ache around it, phalanges running past the thin crack right next to it and raising the gnawing twinge for a moment with the light touch. He could only wonder why no more pain had come. Error was about to end them both, was he not…?

He dazedly looked up, blinked, trying to focus as his hand slightly slid off the crack. He saw... two Errors? Or was his blurred sight playing tricks on him? No, he definitely saw two skeletal figures drenched in black, looking in his direction... but one of them, the closest to him, wasn't Error.

He squinted, feeling like his entire body was swaying like a raft in the sea even if he was completely still.

He recognized the cold stare of a lone blue eye, the baleful head tilt.

**_"Boo."_ **

And gasped, flinching back in shock.

Certainly, his sibling seemed amused by his reaction.

**_"Well, well… so this is where my little brother has been all this time?"_ **

Error didn't even dare to glance at the wounded duo. He wasn't a fair fighter himself, but Nightmare was even less so. Turning your back on him was equal to a death wish, and Error knew it by experience.

He simply waited… he didn't seem eager to let anyone else finish what he had started.

Dream was frozen in place; pained, stunned, confused, afraid. Everything he shouldn't be but couldn't avoid being. He no longer knew if he was lightheaded because of the amount of pain he was in, or because he simply couldn't take all the stress. How wrong things were going just made him _want_ to faint – it was disaster after disaster.

 ** _"And, of course, lost a simple fight... Just as I would expect from you."_** Nightmare derided, snickering darkly. The fact that the only family he had ever had was at the brink of death was hilarious in his mindset of only pain and suffering.

Dream couldn't bring himself to utter a single word, caught up in an unbreakable bind of nagging confusion and bewilderment. He wanted to say a hundred words and ask a million questions, but he couldn't find his voice. He had so many doubts, there were so many things he wanted to know but that were so far away from him.

How in the name of everything did Nightmare get there? How did he _even_ know what was happening? Why had he stopped Error from killing him? Why was he holding him back?

Why had nobody died yet...?

 ** _"What? Not even going to say hello?"_** The skeleton of melting tar shrugged carelessly, a mere head tilt, almost as if he had foreseen his brother's reaction to his very existence; the lack of a response didn't seem to bother him at all. **_"So rude coming from you... Then again, there's probably a reason for that..."_**

He slowly turned to glare at Error again; that eerie eye alone seemed to stab whoever it looked at the same way a blade drenched in lava would. It was a hateful glare that screamed terror, freezing the souls of those who had them. **_"Isn't that right, Erro͢r̛̀?̵̛"_**

Said skeleton narrowed his eyes into an unreadable expression as his name was uttered with contempt and spite.

Much to Error's surprise, however, he wasn't faced with any sort of attack but with the sight of the other skeleton turning his attention away from him with a pondering, closed eye. It filled him with uneasiness, yet a feeling that told him he didn't have much to worry about; he knew that, had Nightmare _wanted_ to kill him, he would have done so without contemplations long ago.

That still didn't mean he was willing to lower his guard, much less be the first to attack.

The melting skeleton instead gave Dream and Ink an almost pitiful glare drenched in scorn, silently mocking their pained, battered figures. Brothers locked eyes of opposing emotions. **_"Really though… how hard can it possibly be to kill a couple of monsters? Especially for someone like you."_**

His scoffing tone told Error that he was making fun of him, but he merely gritted his teeth in response; Nightmare had no plans of killing him, or at least not that he could tell for the time being, and it truly was his last wish to provoke him into changing his mind – he was probably trying to aggravate him into lashing out, cunning monster he was.

He wouldn't say he was wrong about that insulting mock, though, be it bait or not. Dream and Ink _had_ given him a little more than a workout despite his increased strength. Perhaps he really should have considered ending them the first chance he got instead of taking his sweet time to laugh at their pain, but he was all in for watching his most despised targets suffer.

It was fun. He still believed it had been worth it; Error wasn't about to let them go thinking they were above everything, controlling the multiverse.

 **"what do you even want."** he asked, monotonously, preparing himself for any sudden usage of magic he'd have to pull off when the other turned to look at him with a crooked grin and a menacing eye.

He tried not to show his worry as he glared back at the lone eye. Even though he had only encountered Nightmare once, he knew for a fact that he was literally untouchable. Not even a head-on Gaster Blaster had done any noticeable damage to him, and Error didn't know how he would win if he was forced to fight.

 ** _"Several things, actually."_** the melting skeleton carelessly replied, standing his ground. **_"For one, I came here to stop you from ruining my plans."_**

**" _what_ plans."**

Error himself was impressed at the aggression he was showing, but afraid too. Dealing with Nightmare was complicated; showing fear was an easy way to be turned to dust – showing too much courage could grant even worse results. And staying in the middle of it wasn't precisely what anybody would consider to be easy, especially for someone as hot-headed as Error was.

Nightmare seemed unfazed by his boldness, though. It just added to his eerie, non-murderous behavior. He was amused, in a way, when he would have already obliterated everyone had it been a normal occasion. **_"You know. Taking over the multiverse. Getting rid of pesky 'heroes'. Basically, everything you're p͟r͞eve͘nt́in̶g."_**

The glitch flinched at the sudden corruption on the other's bloodcurdling voice, but didn't step back. **_"Just look at what you've done… Normally I wouldn't care; I would be impressed, even, but I see now why someone really needs to keep you in check. There's barely anyone left… and that is pretty t̛roub̴l͝es͟ome͜ for me."_**

**"so what? are you gonna kill me?"**

Nightmare frowned as Error spoke without the same fear that was holding him back from directly lashing out simply out of panicked self-defense, and his single eye closed. **_"No. I do need as many people alive as possible, and you are no different, especially having grown so ridiculously strong. Right now, all you have to do is leave and we will all be happy."_**

Dream seemed to double take at him in heartfelt confusion, still recovering from the merciless daze. Error didn't move an inch; if anything, his eyes narrowed ominously.

**_"the hell i will."_ **

Nightmare's eye widened at the audacity, and the kindred skeleton behind him seemed to shrink back, foreseeing nothing but chaos for daring to defy someone as powerful.

Error had no idea what he was doing. And it would only get them all killed.

There was a long stare, nothing but silence…

**_"Fine. Have it your_ ** **_way."_**

Error blinked.

**_"Never thought you could be this stubborn. In all honesty, I didn't want anyone to die just yet… but I don't really mind_ ** **you _living or dying."_**

Error bore a nonchalant expression drenched in a façade, wary of everything that surrounded him as it all seemed to close up on him. He didn't know if it was because he knew his chances of winning were slim or because Nightmare was somehow messing with his mind without him noticing, but that wasn't his main priority.

He _had_ to fight. That was the only choice.

Fight or flight, and he was definitely _not_ going for the latter.

After all, he was seconds away from annihilating the saddest bunch of glitches out there and had his entrance to the Omega Timeline under the hold of his magic. He wasn't going to back down simply because a stronger monster who could certainly obliterate him told him to. His hunt had gone on and on for long enough; _he_ would be the one to place the full stop.

Besides, he knew that letting Nightmare proceed with his tyrannical plan would turn out to be his worst mistake – because none of those abominations would rightfully die and he, along with everyone else, would be downgraded to a mere servant, a circus monster devoid of feelings.

He wasn't going to let that happen. And if he had to die, he wouldn't die there. Not without a fight. It would be outrageous to lose what he had basically won because of Nightmare's splendid timing to finally show up.

**"i don't care what you came here for. what happens here is _my_ business now, and you're not just gonna get away with ruining everything."**

Dream didn't know if Error was aware of the huge brave idiot he was unnecessarily being, but that was his last concern when Nightmare faced the reckless rival with nothing but murder intent flashing in his eye.

**_"We'll see about that."_ **

A chuckle. Dark, threatening, bloodcurdling even.

Although his exterior showed no visible signs of fear, Error could feel the frantic beat of a heart he didn't have pounding in his ribcage. And yet, hardly thinking twice, he boldly shot a horde of strings towards the other skeleton, hoping the same electric magic he had just learned to use would be effective.

He hadn't expected Nightmare to flash a dark grin in response.

Faster than anything anyone had ever seen, a goopy hand reached out for the strings with perfect timing as if they weren't at all hazardous and lightning fast, ceasing their way in a clenched fist; jet black tar quickly covered the blue lines like a spreading virus and forced Error to let go of them in alarm as they disintegrated.

 ** _"Feisty, aren't we?"_** the black skeleton laughed.

He smirked at the single Gaster Blaster glaring at him with menacing fire in its hateful eyes, not at all deeming it as any sort of threat. As soon as the beam burst out of its mouth and smoking dust flew from the ground, its target was gone.

Needless to say, Error wasn't particularly happy with having lost such a powerful being from sight.

A powerful being that was grinning like a maniac behind him, his presence nonexistent to the nervous glitch.

**_"̷̸P̡eȩk̴͞ab̕͢͝o͜ơ̴.̡"_ **

Error's eyes could only widen with chills that caused his entire body to glitch up, but he had no time to even see the lethal blow that had probably fractured his spine, propelling him forth and further corrupting his body. He broke apart like a puzzle every erratic second as he hit the ground, and all that went through his mind was pain and fear and _an urge to fight back._

He was relatively quick to get back up, though he wobbled unsteadily on the spot as his body broke through reality with eerie static, lightheaded. He shook his head, glancing at the other skeleton and mindful of keeping his distance. The entirety of his backbone ached.

He didn't know how to deal with Nightmare.

And that wasn't the type of fight he actively looked forward to.

 ** _"Do you really think you have_** **any _chance against me? It's honestly hilarious."_** the tar skeleton disdainfully commented, a Cheshire cat grin shaped on his face as he laughed.

Everyone else had gone quiet, shaken by the much stronger monster's presence. They hadn't died yet, and it seemed like Nightmare wasn't about to obliterate their lives anytime soon – that was all that mattered for the time being. They knew that whatever had to happen next would be Error's problem.

Certainly, more than a few of them were glad about his fate. Dream, by the other hand, couldn't help but feel heavy with worry and empathy even towards someone as heartless as Error was. As to why, he didn't know, and was afraid he would never know; but that wasn't the biggest of his concerns.

Everyone, including himself, was afraid, uncertain, tense, and only able to wait for the worst to happen, be it for them or for someone else. There was little to no hope among them. There was no will to expect anything to go right.

And that was the type of scenario Nightmare loved.

The type of scenario that made him stronger.

And the type scenario that, in exchange, made his brother weaker.

All around them was nothing but destruction and pain and distress. Dream just realized how weak and empty he felt himself, the pressure of the deathly situation too much to let him think about anything else. Nightmare, by the other hand, seemed worryingly thrilled about it all. But Dream, Dream couldn't fight if those he cared for weren't there, safe, knowing that justice would triumph.

Still heavily anguished about the unfixable mess that was raining down on top of him, Dream was only able to pry his attention off his brother when he caught glimpse of a motionless figure through the corner of his eye, and his world fell like shattered glass; only one other thing worried him more than Nightmare's presence.

"Ink...?"

The wounded skeleton hardly even stirred, and only his erratic, pained intakes of breath told Dream he was unconscious and not dead.

He was still closer to death than he was to life, however.

Getting no response from the fallen artist, Dream couldn't help but let tears of cyan well in his eye sockets, only one falling slowly. A hand rested on the creator's shoulder; even his clothing was cold. "Please... please wake up…"

Still no response. If anything, Ink seemed to be breathing slower and slower, his entire body wincing as a visible current flashed through him and forced Dream to pull his hand away, and eyes of gold twinkled with tears.

"Hold on… _Hold on…"_

As the fight progressed, Papyrus, Geno and Chara found themselves bracing for an incoming attack as they saw the beam of a Gaster Blaster torn to pieces by courtesy of the appendages on the darker skeleton's back barrel towards them, countless _error_ messages splotching its white light in black.

It was only luck that it missed them by inches only as their faces shaped into ones of horror, shattering the strings that held them in place. All three tumbled to the ground with quick momentum, thankful of the soft grass somewhat cushioning their fall.

Geno seemed to have landed badly over his left arm, clutching it with a small hiss, but overall none of them were worryingly hurt by the fall as they regained their footing. The shock of nearly having had their heads blown off lingered vehemently, however.

"You okay?" Frisk loudly asked, receiving a reassuring thumbs-up from the other human down below.

"been through worse," Papyrus merely shrugged, a keen eye mindful of the fight around them. The two were far enough not to be a reason for panic, so the nervous skeleton allowed himself to focus his attention on the others even though he was consumed by that nagging feeling of exposing himself to immediate danger by merely turning his back. "hold on, i'm gonna get you down."

He stepped back, an eye closed to let him aim correctly before summoning a single bone in his hand, launching it like a boomerang.

It effectively cut through the strings, snapping them into thin air as the monsters and humans fell, some shrieking from the sudden shock building up in their chests as they gained speed and the ground below them dangerously approached.

Papyrus was quick to use his psychokinesis to avoid them hitting the earth just seconds before impact, though his magic didn't seem to take any effect on Core as they landed on their rear, only seeming dazed after the tumble.

"i'll never understand how you work, kid." the tall skeleton commented, lowering the others with a frown marking his expression as the colorless human stood up with a crooked smile, _"I don't myself."_

Everyone else took their time to find their bearings as if walking was a new feature for their bodies, feeling numb after being suspended in midair for so long; their arms ached once released from the powerful strings pinning them. Fresh seemed especially concerned about positioning his cap correctly.

Another missed laser destroying the ground it devoured caught their attention; the two brawling skeletons were gaining distance on them, and the group watched their step as they slowly backed away without taking their sight off the battle; Toriel mindful of the three humans as if they were her own life.

It soon became obvious that Nightmare was winning by miles, and out of sheer panic and desperation, Error was launching all sorts of attacks to and fro in a hopeless attempt to actually cause any damage to his nemesis.

Everything around them was covered in smoke, floating skulls of black, flying bones, barreling lasers, rampant strings. Surprisingly, either Nightmare dodged them all as if his world went by in slow motion or they simply failed to affect him on the slightest. So many missed Gaster Blasters had set the grass ablaze, and the fight went on through livid flames that further consumed the broken world.

Core, however, seemed more worried about the _other_ two skeletons rather than the hazardous battle approaching.

Following their distraught glance staring forth, Papyrus looked up in the same direction, eyebrows furrowing in concern when he realized what kept Core so overwrought. The sight of Dream at the edge of grieving tears and Ink seemingly motionless wasn't at all reassuring, especially not with the fight destroying everything in its path.

They were too vulnerable.

The blast had taken Dream's attention as well, a single tear still rolling down his face as his sight was warily taken from the group to the ongoing battle.

He made to back away in surprise when the first thing he caught sight of was Error hurled against the ground close to him and Ink, countless messages of broken words clouding him like starving flies. He seemed exhausted, hardly able to get back up.

He growled as his eyes narrowed, pushing himself up through trembling arms. A nasty crack ran from the bottom of his left eye to the corner of his mouth, flooded by small words barely visible to an inattentive eye. Parts of him that were burned, tattered, were violently buzzing as though they were erratically disintegrating.

And Nightmare was untouched and hardly even tired after it all, grinning like the maniac he was, like Error had been when he won his own fights and towered over his fallen victims, wishing to cause nothing but pain. In just a few minutes, a being equally as heartless if not more so defeated what previously was about to obliterate a whole cluster of lives. It was only ironic.

Sensing victory, he laughed, glancing at his brother.

**_"Did you seriously lose to this pathetic weakling, Dream? Ha… I knew you were weak yourself, but this is just sad."_ **

_It's easy for you to say, isn't it?,_ his sibling wanted to say so but couldn't find the strength to utter a single word. He didn't want to risk anything, either. Despite beaming with the thrill of victory, Nightmare was still clearly furious. Error's audacity hadn't given him any positive results, and only angered the one monster he should have never dared to fight.

Dream's eyes never stopped tracking Nightmare as he slowly approached the other skeleton, silently mocking him with a sinister chuckle and a grin that could zip off his head, watching Error struggle to find his bearings. He tried to get up, but his right leg didn't seem to be in the best of conditions; no fracture could be seen, but it was completely glitching out.

He fell on one knee, panting, as belittled as those he had hurt in the past and present were.

For once, he was afraid. _Truthfully_ afraid. Dream, and perhaps nobody else for that matter, had ever seen him so distraught.

**_"Now, as you would say… let͏'͠s ͟th̸row the̶ ̡ga͡rb͠ág͜e, shall we?"_ **

The two upper tentacles on the ominous skeleton of nothing but black rose, pointed at Error's skull like swords, looking sharp and threatening and deadly as the melting skeleton _grinned._

Error didn't even glance at him.

And Dream, somehow, felt like he couldn't let any death take place.

Not even Error's.

_"STOP!"_

He had lashed out before he knew his body had propelled forward, a rampant projectile thrown between Error and Nightmare; much closer to the latter, imploding into scalding glitter that forced the sibling to step back in shock at the bothersome twinge caused by the obnoxious light.

It _hurt_.

If there was one thing that hurt him, disgusted him, it was light.

A melting arm covered his one eye as the short yet painful glimmer blinded him, a light so small but that felt like the flash of a beacon attacking his sight without pity.

Dream didn't know _why_ he did it. He just knew he had done so.

He was… that. A pacifist. A straight up hot-headed pacifist. Error may have made everyone suffer, mentally and physically. He had condemned the multiverse, made certain people lose their sanity for the sake of what he called justice. He had ruined Ink's life beyond what was possible out of hatred.

But… Dream had never blamed him. Never, not even at that point. He knew it had all simply gone off the rails, not only for Error but for everyone.

And even though he still had a burning hatred towards that monster… he wasn't blamed enough to let him die by someone who was by far worse than him.

Nobody would die there.

Nobody.

Nobody…

Nightmare's grin turned into a furious scowl as he realized it had been his poor excuse of a brother that had stopped him _again_ ; the one who had had the audacity to interfere, to challenge him _again._ His fists curled, dripping, as Error merely looked up at him when death's cold embrace never reached him. His frown as he turned to the skeleton that had just saved his life was one of confusion, disbelief.

Why…-?

Dream stepped back, the glare of a blue eye sending chills through him.

He hadn't expected Nightmare to lunge at him faster than he would ever be able to react, but he knew he had blundered badly as soon as the projectile imploded against the earth. One second his brother was menacingly glowering at him, the next his cold hand was tightly grasping his neck.

Dream tried to pull himself away from the relentless chokehold in increasing panic, however he could do nothing but uselessly try to pry the melting fingers off his neck, gagging, eyes clenched shut.

**_"Listen here, b͏ro̷t̴̵hè̸r̴.̡ I'm tired of your pathetic pacifism. I'm tired of you always getting in the way of everyone's business, and I'm_ ** **tired _of you stopping me. Let this be the_ last _warning I ever give you: I didn't come here to kill anyone, but if you try to play the hero, just_ one _more time… I'll̨ t̶e͟a̕r̨ ͢y̶o͠u͢ ap̴art."̧_**

He pulled him closer, slowly tightening his grip. **_"̡Is ̵t̕h͝at̕ c̵le͠ar̴,̢ p͠i͜ps̛q̢ùe̴a̶k̵?"_** His voice dropped an octave as he glared into the pained, shut eyes of his sibling. Dream only managed to utter a pitiful, frightened squeak, though Nightmare didn't seem to need any other response to grin darkly. **_"Thought so."_**

For a delightful second, he wondered as if to let him go or not.

Oh, it would be so gratifying to _truly_ end that glittery, all-too-nosy excuse of a brother he had. Why _shouldn't_ he kill him was the real question; he was weak, frightened, weakly struggling in his grasp. It was such an easy, tempting kill…

But, no.

It wasn't the time. _Yet_ ; that didn't mean he wouldn't gladly mutilate him if he decided to be stubborn enough to get in his way again.

Before he brought himself to drop him, though, certain human seemed to have gotten an unneeded overdose of boldness when he heard their small yet courageous voice shout behind him, "Hey! Let go of him!"

The bruised flower around Frisk's shoulder shrunk in pure anxiety and terror, stressing their name through clenched teeth as the child stood their ground like they weren't talking to a monster who'd need exactly one second to wipe them from existence. They weren't aware of the stares of the others behind them; the type of look one would give a crazy person.

Nightmare sideways-glanced at them with the only eye he had, watching their confident expression of narrowed eyes turn into one of uneasiness as he grinned at them. He was uncaring of the skeleton he was still holding. **_"Or_ what _?"_** he laughed, gladly aware of how frightened the child was as they began to step back.

His brother was thrown aside like mere garbage, coughing and gasping for breath as Nightmare turned to fully look at the no longer self-assured human, slowly approaching with a lopsided grin of white among endless black, **_"What would_ you _do? Prattle on about how it's better to befriend everyone? Kill me with a hug? "_**

"N... N-n-no, I... I- I m-mean..." Frisk was shivering so badly they couldn't help but stutter, trying to hurriedly back away but only managing to fall on their rear as the malicious monster before them kept approaching, pushing themselves away in sheer terror. They felt like their shoulder was about to break given how tightly Flowey's stem was growing around it.

_"Get away from my child."_

Nightmare stopped without worry as Toriel valiantly stepped in front of the one human that had saved her life in innumerable ways, fangs showing, vicious fire in her paws as she scowled at the dripping skeleton before her fiery eyes. He, however, merely grinned in response to her hostility.

 ** _"Temper there,"_** Nightmare only shrugged, carelessly walking past her. Crimson eyes of slit-shaped pupils were trained on him, piercing like daggers as Frisk found shelter behind her crimson robe, their heart beating so fast they were afraid it would burst out of their chest. ** _"Nobody wants to make a big production out of this, am I right?"_**

As the others were simply yet menacingly stared down, Core mustered enough courage to run past them, practically drowning in worry; Nightmare didn't seem to mind them of all people running off, but the rest didn't know if to follow.

He couldn't harm the child, but one wrong step by their side and Nightmare wouldn't hesitate to attack. He wasn't going to kill them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't hurt them if they tried anything stupid such as running away, and those who had any knowledge about him were fully aware of the risk.

 _"D-Dream? Are you alright?"_ the monochromatic human hurriedly inquired, kneeling beside the panting skeleton. He seemed overly distraught; fear was almost visibly clouding him, though Core seemed equally if not more frightened and concerned. Ink had already suffered enough – the last thing they needed was Dream to brush against certain death as well.

"It's okay… I-I'm fine…" he sighed in a trembling voice, coughing once before looking back at his brother. He stared in disbelief, breathing heavily yet quietly. It felt like a hundred needles were stabbing through his chest as he let the situation sink in, and they wouldn't go away anytime soon.

He shakily got up; damn everything, he still hadn't healed, and his femur shot treacherous fire through his leg no matter how much he tried to ignore it. He would have to live with it – he was in no condition to fix himself for the time being… and, besides, he had something else to fix.

Core didn't seem happy about the wounds he bore, much less about him still trying. He was too weak, injured, and his brother wasn't precisely eager to spare him. It was suicidal to even try and _talk_ to him…

Dream seemed to be pondering, his cape faintly waving with a soft breeze. Deeply pondering, thinking things twice, thrice, a million times, his gaze lost as Core did nothing but try to read an inscrutable expression of pain and fear and guilt; the only thing they _could_ do at that point.

They doubted they had ever seen him so anguished. In the outside, he simply seemed to be staring… but a quick look into his eyes and one would see nothing but the deep emotional pain that weighed him down like a boulder on his back.

"Stay with Ink," Dream merely said, quietly. Not commanding, not requesting, simply asking with heartfelt worry as he advanced, though he flinched lightly when the touch of a cold hand caught hold of his forearm and stopped him. He merely looked behind him to meet hollow eye sockets that begged him not to be so obstinately stalwart.

_"Please… he'll kill you."_

Dream's expression didn't visibly shift, but Core saw that pain sparkling through pupils of afflicted gold.

"Someone has to do something."

The human slowly let go, eyes sorrowfully narrowing as Dream made his way towards his brother. Core just hoped he knew what he was doing, because if something went wrong, the chances of any of the monsters present being able to do anything to help him were all too slim.

Swallowing their fear, their gaze slowly turned to Ink, expressionless eyes filled with nothing but worry as they watched his red-stained chest. He was still breathing. Barely, but still breathing. His eyes weren't shut tight, only lightly closed. Bloodied ink trickled down the corner of his mouth, but he didn't seem to be in unbearable pain for the time being, and that was always a good signal.

They didn't know how much he would be able to hold on, but with the multiverse still living, he had a chance to open his eyes just once more. All that mattered was the time he valiantly fought to keep himself alive; each second not seeing him as dust was as valuable as a treasure.

They had an attentive gaze planted on Error as he finally managed to stand up, stunned, confused even. His whole body buzzed like there was no tomorrow; the eerie sound of static was uncanny, unsettling and beyond. He could barely shift any weight onto his corrupted leg, shoulders hunched.

Core was overly afraid he would target Ink before dealing with Nightmare again, if even. He tended to lash out at others when he was mad, ridiculed; they knew that well enough. And despite being in clear pain and tired beyond what he could handle, he was still enraged and wouldn't hesitate to kill the first living being his eyes met.

The broken skeleton looked at the rest of monsters, then at Core and Ink.

Empty eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Error growled quietly, expression vindictive, but he panned his attention back to the others, anything but smiling.

 ** _"So brave when you think nothing will happen in those indecisive heads of yours, but then you all shut up when you face what you've provoked."_** Nightmare mocked, laughing lightly at the sight of none willing to even feign an attack. **_"You truly are pathetic."_**

"Stop."

His smile was immediately lost to a frown as his brother's firm voice beamed confidence behind him, and he slowly turned around to face the hot-headed skeleton.

The colorless human could see the infuriated blue eye from where they crouched beside the wounded creator. They didn't know if blood was still flowing through their body, but they did know that it felt like so and that it felt ice cold.

Nightmare granted his brother a judgmental stare of almost disbelief before his gaze dangerously narrowed.

**_"At this point, I don't know if you just want to die."_ **

Dream stood his ground as he was menacingly glared at, though his gaze was kept low and he didn't show signs of wanting to attack. Nightmare, however, did, but he seemed to be pondering… and Dream simply seemed to be waiting.

The others stepped back.

They couldn't help but sense a fight. One they, unfortunately, wouldn't be able to stop be it the case. Error could still be deterred with their help… but Nightmare was downright untouchable. A single mistake could cost more than one life in the blink of an eye.

"Nobody has to die." the brighter skeleton stated, lowering his staff to further indicate that fighting was his last resort even if it implied him having less chances to defend himself against a sudden attack. That single eye criticized him with fire.

 ** _"Oh, and they won't,"_** his brother derided, smirking widely before hatred enveloped his sneering attitude. **_"Except for ỳ̡o̢͢u̧͘, of course. Don't worry all that much about it, though, nobody will care about such an insignificant loss. In the end, nobody will miss you, or even remember you existed."_**

Dream wasn't about to show the pain of the immense wrench in his chest.

"But _why?"_ he stressed, eyes narrowed as to not let a waterfall of tears break loose from his eye sockets. "There's no point in this anymore, can't you see?!"

Some of the monsters in the back melted at his grief, but Nightmare hardly even flinched at the pained raise of tone. ** _"It's all worth a try. You never know, right?"_** He chuckled, heartlessly, coldly.

There was the smallest of disbelieved headshakes in response, "Please... Can't you see we've already suffered enough...?" Dream's voice was crying, mourning, but he wasn't yet... His pupils were still twinkling with tears that he refused to let fall.

Nightmare only closed his eye, chuckling quietly yet darkly. _**"Brother... let me ask you a question."**_

He looked back up, his grin more terrifying, murderous and menacing than Error's had ever been throughout the relentless killing spree; even said skeleton flinched at the sight of it, and Core shrunk as Dream took a wary step back.

**_"Do͏és̸ ̷iţ look͏ ͞lik̸e ͞I ̷car̴e̢?"_ **

Everything became dead silent.

Dream didn't know how to respond, but he did know _what_ to: no. The word reverberated in his skull like echoing venom, and he just wanted to make himself believe that there was a yes hidden deep down in that dark heart… if Nightmare even had anything like one anymore.

**_"When will you learn? I am not a trivial do-gooder like you. I have never been, and I will_ ** **never _be. Kindness, empathy, mercy... that rubbish you stand up for, they are nothing but synonyms for w̶eákńęss͝.̡"_**

"You know that's not true… _you know that's not true...!"_

**_"Heh... it seems like you really don't know me_ ** **at all _."_**

And he kept grinning, further, tentacles growing ominously in a threatening manner as he laughed. Everyone backed away from him in alarm, though Dream stood firm on his ground as a single tear rolled down his face.

"Please... I don't want to fight you..."

**_"Too bad... Y͞ou'll m͞ak͢ȩ ̵i͞t̕ ea̶s͜i̷er͡!"_ **

All four appendages shot towards the heartbroken skeleton like daggers ready to strike, lightning fast, and Dream found himself unable to move as his pupils contracted at the sight of incoming death. He only brought his senses to react with only a second to get away, though he wasn't fast enough to avoid one of the appendages of slick black catching tight hold of his wrist, preventing him from counterattacking as the shock interrupted a strike from his staff.

He barely had time to take notice of a malevolent grin on his brother's face before he was lifted into the air and propelled forward. He couldn't even scream as he was violently yanked down and the ground was suddenly right in front of him–

Nightmare's sickening cackle as his brother was mercilessly hurled against the earth, enveloped by flying dust and the ever so faint sound of cracked bones, was bloodcurdling. Frisk found themselves running to their motherly figure's arms in shock; it wasn't much different from the others, some covering their mouth or eyes, Chara in particular briefly shrieking.

Dream was clutching his forearm in clear pain as the dust cleared up, a trench on the ground where he had brutally landed. A few, stifled intakes of air and he tried to stand up, but it seemed as if any movement he made, no matter how small, took his breath away from him and he wheezed as he fell back down; his arm shot knives through him.

 ** _"Down already?"_** he heard his brother's sneer as he tried to keep his consciousness, barely managing to look up at him only to see that he was coming closer with murderous intent written on each of his steps. **_"Come on… g͝et ́up̵ ̵and͞ ̧fíght.̢"_**

"leave him alone!" the hostile growl of a Papyrus who wasn't willing to take any more pain and suffering commanded behind him, fire in his eye as telltale for an incoming attack that he knew would do nothing but was willing to attempt anyways.

However, he was merely glanced at and the next thing he knew the wind was knocked out of him as one of the tentacles swoop to earn him a violent blow where his stomach would be, harshly propelling him back. Chara and Frisk were the ones to prevent him from hitting the earth, holding his arms as he gritted his teeth in pain.

Menacing light flashed in Geno's eye for a single second as he watched the closest to a brother there was left in the crumbling multiverse struggle to regain his breath, and his magic was furiously charging before he knew so when he glared at a content Nightmare.

"you- _monster_..." he growled darkly, before shouting as barreling bones were sent in the melting silhouette's direction.

A quick, dripping swipe from his hand accompanied by an unsettling smile and they were all gone... except for one that got embedded in the pitch black arm; Geno himself winced at the sight of it, but was more shocked about Nightmare merely glancing at it as if it were nothing.

The bone slowly melted into him.

 ** _"Interrupting others is not nice."_** he grinned, signs of pain completely nonexistent. **_"Be_ glad _I need you all alive for now."_**

And they were all propelled back by yet another brutal swipe from his tentacles that nobody had had the time to see coming, the humans having clearly taken more damage than everyone else as they were thrown to the ground, out of breath; all three skeletons were sure they had felt their ribs bend inwards by the force of the impact, them not breaking a truthful miracle.

**_"As for you..."_ **

Nightmare slowly turned around to face his brother, not yet capable of standing up and breathing heavily. Dream barely managed to look at him, more distraught and frightened than pained as he lightly shivered.

**_"Now would be a great time to have a little talk."_ **

He, too, received a merciless blow straight to his chest, where the wound of his previous fight against Error still burned as though it had just been made, when he tried to stand up. He felt his ribs bend the wrong way for an endless moment before he became aware of the ground's coldness below him as he slid through it a few feet.

He clutched his chest in agony, not affording to care about his lost weapon as he tried to see through the hazy curtain of pain.

**_"For one, you won't be needing this anymore."_ **

Dream glanced up to see his staff dripping in the grasp of one of the melting appendages, watched in horror as the grip slowly tightened until the weapon was torn in two halves and vaporized in midair; only fading glitter remained.

Trying his best not to force his breathing, Dream attempted to get away as Nightmare approached, but it was to no avail; his arm wasn't broken, but it was definitely in a bad shape given how numb it felt, and any movement caused his burning chest to shoot unbearable waves of pain throughout him.

 ** _"Aww, don't want to talk to your big bro?"_** The melting head tilted as he came closer, Dream still trying to drag himself away. **_"Figures... I knew you sti̷l̀l wouldn't care."_**

Dream stopped and tensed, his world falling in stop motion as two tentacles rose above him, threatening to crush him like nothing. He was flooded by sheer panic as they came barreling down towards him at enough speed to cut his life short, and he could do nothing but shut his eyes and throw his hands over his head – he couldn't tell if it was Core who shrieked.

He winced sharply at the loud clap of earth cracking and splitting on either side of him, further shrinking in terror.

One second. Two, three, four…

A single eye opened, fluttering. The attack hadn't hit him.

And as he tried to relearn how to breathe, the two tentacles slowly retreated as a blue eye closed with a light chuckle.

**_"You never_ ** **did _, did you?"_**

Dream blinked, managing to barely sit up, his body numb and shaking like a leaf from the bloodcurdling shock. The terror in his eyes was overwhelming.

"...w...what...?"

**_"Ah, playing the victim again... You never change."_ **

His brother began circling him, gait slow and menacing, like a predator stalking its wounded prey ready to pounce and end its life. Nobody dared to make a move; Error watched with intrigued hatred, Core stared in horror, and the others were still recovering, though they were well aware of how dangerous everything had become.

**_"Here, let me give you something to think about..."_ **

His grin was unsettling as he slowly ceased his menacing gait in front of his brother, head tilted to the side ever so slightly as he glared.

**_"Give me ONE single reason not to kill you right now."_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never expected the ending to be so long... I'm just not a fan of wall-of-text type chapters - or maybe I'm just not ready to let go of this feel train. ^-^" Welp, either way, one more part and it's done and over with (kind of).
> 
> DAMMIT SIS STOP MAKING EVERYONE SUFFER.


	17. For Yourself, For Everyone {True Ending: Finale}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't try to convince me otherwise."
> 
> He turned away from Core, walking towards wherever his grief took him. The human did not go after him, or try to stop him, and merely retreated, but not before giving Dream one last glance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aAAAAA I'M SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE ;^;
> 
> This chapter was chaos, I lost my progress on it twice and kinda lost inspiration, so sorry if anything feels rushed. I'm on vacation now and have to write on my phone; if you happen to find any typo, please tell me!
> 
> Also sorry if Fresh's lines make you want to throw yourself out the window. I don't speak fresh :')

For a single second, it felt like one of those questions to which the answer came straight from the heart, no thinking at all needed, and Dream seemed about to instinctively answer straight away... but he stopped himself, and fell into pondering silence when he realized what his brother was hinting at.

Nightmare wasn't expecting an excuse from him. It wasn't even a question, entirely; he knew the answer. Both did, and Dream averted his gaze. The sickening grin just further proved his pained beliefs.

Nightmare wanted him to remember why he hadn't been killed yet, before the inevitable happened. After all, he still had something the eldritch abomination in front of him wanted and would gladly kill for. Dream couldn't help but think that Nightmare had been waiting all along until things became unfixable to finally take matters into his own hands; it was the only reason for him to come out of the blue.

It only made things worse.

 **_"Ah. So you_ ** **do _know… don't you?"_**

The lack of an answer seemed to both delight Nightmare and infuriate him further, especially when his brother looked down in an attempt to hide sorrowed tears; he was visibly trembling in increasing panic. The darker skeleton wasn't showing any sort of smile, but he wasn't scowling either; he merely stared, expression monotonous, unreadable.

 ** _"Good."_** The grin was maniacal, **_"At least you accept that this won't be a happy ending for you."_**

Through a curtain of tears that never fell, Dream saw the blurred silhouette of melting blackness approaching menacingly, though he found himself unable to back away – paralyzed by fear and shock. It wasn't like he was given much time to react, anyways.

"W-wait, p-please don't–"

Dream was harshly bashed aside before he could even tell what happened, the grass that flew from the ground he rebounded against before limply laying on his side feeling stone hard, treacherous. The headache was strong enough to numb him for an eternal second.

He couldn't help but ignore the harsh ache all over him when a powerful strain took hold of his wrist before he got the chance to get back up, making him flinch as he was lifted to eye level only to meet a gaze of unbridled hatred. He couldn't look into that eye and not feel a sorrowed wrench, though fear was quick to overtake it. He saw ill will in that stare, the wish to hurt. It was sickening.

**_"You little, miscreant idiot. You thought this was over, didn't you? You thought I would eventually let it go. But truth is, I'm far from done, and this absurdity will end today."_ **

Dream was violently hurled against the ground, the appendage of melting blackness not letting go of his wrist as the wind was knocked out of him and his consciousness threatened to shatter in an instant. He wanted to scream, but only managed to let out a stifled yelp before he received another blow straight to his spine.

Papyrus, stalwartly stubborn as he was, tried to rush in only to be stopped by a tense arm of white in his way.

 _"don't."_ Geno snapped, regretful and silent concern echoing through his voice. "you can't hurt him, it's suicidal to go against him."

"we have to do _something_." Papyrus stressed exasperatedly, receiving a look of disapproval from Chara behind him.

"It won't help things at all if _we_ die too, don't you think?"

"there has to be a way to stop that... that _thing_!"

Frisk visibly took a shaken, deep breath in as they shifted their weight in anxiety, Flowey shaking by their side. They saw grass and dirt flying by in the distance as Dream was hurled against a hillock. "Well, if we're gonna do something, we've gotta do it _now_."

Glances of boundless preoccupation reached the two brothers; Nightmare hadn't yet decided he would stop flinging his brother around like a lifeless ragdoll anytime soon, and the other's strength would soon be insufficient to keep dodging. The fight was distancing itself from everyone else, into the raging fire, giving them less and less chances to help at all.

Surrounded by fire and covered in pain, Dream's only thought was to _run._

He had never stood a chance against Nightmare, let alone in a place where there was nothing but worry, distress and pain – he would be a goner if he didn't get a grip on himself and rush out of there, though his chances were slim. He was too weak, too wounded, and he couldn't abandon the timeline. If only he had his staff he would have been able to at least defend himself with light, but he didn't have that small privilege by his side.

He could still use magic even without his weapon, but it would require the strength he needed to get away from his demise. It was a tense last resort. He would have to play pretend and imagine that he wasn't trying to escape from a madman with a broken femur and an excruciating ache all over him whilst avoiding the lethal flames and trying not to reach a dead end among the inferno.

Core could only watch as chaos broke loose, Error idling several feet away, looking contemplative. The little human hardly even regarded him as they stared in shock, not knowing if they were breathing, not remembering if they had to; they could only focus on the one-sided fight, on pondering about how miraculous it was that each and every single one of Dream's frail bones hadn't yet been torn to pieces.

The pained stirring beside them had taken their attention, too. Strongly.

They almost involuntarily turned to look at Ink as he tried to regain any form of grip on consciousness, his eyes clenching shut as he tried to open just one of them; even a tiny action such as that shot bullets through him, but he fought against the pain like his life depended on it – because it certainly did.

Error had a keen eye planted on the two as he made sure that the merciless fight wasn't coming any closer; patient, expectant. He wasn't about to lie – he did find it admirable how Ink was still alive after all the pain and chaos he had undergone, but heavily irritating too. He had been right about one thing all along; he really _was_ a little pest, hard to get rid of.

Ink managed to open his good eye, albeit just barely, seeing nothing but blackness until a few blinks let him recognize the crumbling, darkened world that surrounded him. His pupil was a mere dot of faded blue, fuzzy, hardly visible among the black of his eye socket.

_"Ink...?"_

Everything hurt too much to let him move his head towards the source of the soft yet monotonous voice right beside him, and he only managed to tiredly blink the headache away. Parts of him fuzzed; he was fighting against death, and he wasn't all that close to victory.

"...what... is...?"

Speaking hurt.

Breathing hurt.

 _Living_ hurt, but Ink wasn't eager to let go of his consciousness anytime soon. He didn't want to let go. He _couldn't_ let go, not yet. He didn't care how much he was suffering; as long as he could maintain his strength, he would fight to keep it.

He was severely confused, nevertheless. It was like he had woken up in a different planet altogether. The last thing he had seen and felt was the merciless discharge of electric magic trying to take his life, heard Error about to deliver the final hit. But death never reached him, and even though he appreciated his pending life still hanging on, something felt wrong.

Where was Error? Where was Dream? Who did that distant, sickening laugh belong to...?

He felt heavy with concern when Core didn't answer. He heard a quiet, distressed sigh from them, and could only expect the worst; it wasn't common for them to avoid questions that required an answer. It was more than a little strange and alarming to see Error standing there, too, doing nothing but watching him yet focusing on something else.

Suddenly, everything became ever more senseless.

If he was there… and there were explosions rumbling across…

Had someone else come...?

Ink couldn't afford to care as his vision cleared enough to let him see those pitiless eyes glaring at him, and he found himself staring back at a thoughtful Error like a child who had found something new and unknown; the lone pupil showed confused fear and intrigue. Why was he so... beaten up...? And why wasn't he attacking? Had the world turned upside down while he was unconscious?

Under Core's always attentive gaze, both skeletons locked eyes of equal hatred but equal passiveness. Error didn't look ready to attack, or even wanting to do so. The question, though, was _who_ had done that to him. It wasn't at all possible that the others had managed to wound Error that badly. For one, they were nowhere to be seen, and he saw how they had been trapped before everything became a mass of agony and blackness.

_What was going on?_

"Hey... h-hold on..."

All eyes were planted on the little flower tangled around Frisk's shoulder like he was a sparkling star in the middle of the night, anyone's ideas worth more than a treasure at that point. Even if someone suggested lunging into battle like lunatics, they would take the chance if nothing else came soon. They had to do something; _anything_.

"Light... we- we need light!"

Everyone glanced at each other ponderously and anxiously, thinking, rethinking, overthinking, though Chara seemed to be the one who truly understood Flowey's guess and hurriedly snapped their fingers in realization. "Light! That's it! It hurt him before, didn't you see?"

Some had been fully aware of Error's near death – some had noted the effect of light on Nightmare when Dream lashed out without thinking. Papyrus had definitely been attentive enough, and it was then when he became aware of the only chance they had to save everyone. Light, even small, distracted that monster just about enough to get away from him.

It was a brilliant idea, never better said. Only...

"but _how_ do we use light? we have nothing that glows that much here," he anxiously stated, everyone falling into thought and forcing their minds more than they'd be capable of. "he's been counterattacked by countless gaster blasters and they did nothing to him."

And indeed, Gaster Blasters were the only thing they had that could create any type of illumination. Toriel's fire too, perhaps, but Nightmare was literally enveloped by the flames his fight against Error had caused and he was still laughing like a psychopath.

"you!" Some flinched as Geno stomped towards a careless Fresh, adjusting his shades as the hostile skeleton made his way towards him.

"All ears, dawg."

 _"cut that out for a single second in your pathetic life."_ the single-eyed skeleton snarled, an accusing finger pointed at the multicolored chest; a few frowns responded in the background. "you're all... bright and stuff. surely you know how to make light?"

"G, my man, got all kinds of gnarly-rad light tricks."

But he unveiled none straight away; he only kept on grinning with his hands innocently behind his back, obviously bragging, and neither Geno nor an attentive Papyrus were content about the needless cliffhanger that was mindlessly taking valuable seconds away from everybody's life.

"well?" the taller skeleton growled. "don't just stand there and _do_ something!"

Fresh whistled nonchalantly – somehow –, an obnoxious smile never leaving his traits as a laughable Gaster Blaster was summoned above him. "Cool down, brah. Just follow mah lead."

Toriel didn't seem precisely content at the fact that the multicolored, certainly irritating skull was aiming at her and the others, pulling the human from her fallen universe aside with fierce eyes as the grinning weapon made to fire. Said kid gave the grinning skeleton a scowl.

However, the rainbow-colored blast never shot forward, and kept the beam charging until Fresh decided otherwise.

"You've just gotta fire, _and_ not fire!"

As opposed to the beam exploding out of its maw, it imploded right before the attack charged enough to burst free as the multicolor skeleton snapped his fingers, creating a blinding glow that nearly took everyone's sight away for two seconds before it became nothing but glitter.

"Easy-peasy, brah."

"...yep, that'd work," the human clad in green deadpanned, slowly taking their hand off their forehead as Papyrus tried to calculate what Fresh had even done to get the perfect offense against something untouchable. Since when could Gaster Blasters do that? Bone attacks were easy to manipulate, but those?

He summoned a blaster of his own, doubtful, concentrating on his magic as much as he could. He made sure to aim away from everyone in case he got the trick wrong, readied it to fire, and held it there...

He paused, thoughtful. How would he make it implode? That obnoxious bug had made it look so simple, but he couldn't figure out how to "fire and not fire." He had only learnt to project the magic forward, not inward. Was that even possible? Certain attacks couldn't be manipulated like that.

He tried anyway, first thing that came to his mind. Perhaps he just had to stop the attack a second before he made to fire, thus causing it to forcefully retreat. Or just bend the explosive magic the other way around…

He had no time to overthink it.

He fired.

And he just fired. The blaster didn't implode or do anything out of normal; it fired as it was supposed to, though it did catch an irritated Papyrus off-guard.

**_"Just give up."_ **

Thrown against one of the hills, Dream felt as if he wasn't breathing anymore when the toppled down. He couldn't feel himself; he was numb, yet the pain was still as lively as the fire that surrounded them. He didn't know if something was broken or not; he couldn't tell if he was moving.

No, he _couldn't_ give up.

He had to _run._

He could hear his brother's footsteps, feel the heat of the raging fire beside him as he tried to stand up without feeling his limbs. The pain was unbearable, but what would be more unbearable for him was to let himself get killed and condemn the multiverse to a fate worse than obliteration.

Ink wouldn't be there to be the peacekeeper anymore. He had to take a greater responsibility, because whatever happened to anyone that was still alive next depended fully on him, and because he was the only one left to keep the balance stable.

Agony was all he could think of, but Dream managed to get up, wobbling, tottering as Nightmare laughed at his desperate attempts to escape from certain doom. Each unsteady step he took felt like a knife, but he couldn't give up. Walking, however, proved to be the most arduous task he had ever forced himself to do. He felt like his legs would shatter if he tried to take a single step.

**_"Don't be stupid. The more you try to run, the more I'll hurt you; simple as that. This could have ended long ago, you just need to face the truth and realize that anything you may consider a solution is pointless now."_ **

The uneasy skeleton slowly turned around to defiantly face his smirking brother. He stopped his onslaught of attacks and remained passive, though ready to drag the torture on if Dream tried anything.

Running wasn't working. Fighting wasn't either. He wouldn't be able to defend himself for much longer. So, the only chance he had left was his dwindling faith – he could only hope that his words would somehow take him elsewhere, and even though it wasn't a possibility, it was still something worth trying.

"What do you want?" he nearly whispered, trying to get past the fear and sadness that was creeping up on him with fake hostility that was quick to betray him. Fearful eyes never looked away from the circling monster, always at the ready to make a run for it in case a surprise attack was lurking.

 ** _"You know what I want."_** Nightmare chuckled, grin endless. ** _"Taking over this pathetic multiverse can and must wait, though it won't be long from now. All I need is that power of yours, and there will be nothing left to stop me."_**

"It's not like you can just take someone's emotions away. You don't know how to take over someone's will." the smaller skeleton retorted, expression growing serious as he continued to watch the pacing monster. The cold though empty snicker surely managed to give him chills.

 _ **"I can't?"**_ his brother taunted. _ **"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but unlike you, I don't like wasting my time. While you were pretending to be the hero you are not, I've been learning a few... helpful tricks."**_

The slightly wide eyes and the anguished expression on his brother's traits told him that he most definitely did not want to hear it – anything that made his sibling more powerful than he already was only meant fear and danger to him. It was hilarious in the darker one's mindset.

 ** _"Targeting emotionally hurt people, corrupting their darkest memories, I felt limited. That hardly benefits me, and people could just walk away after a while. No, that doesn't suffice, especially when it comes to you…"_** He flashed a malevolent smirk, ** _"But now, after enough experimentation, it turns out I can simply absorb and corrupt anyone's positive emotions if they are weak. Leave them like nothing but blank wanderers devoid of feelings. Hating themselves, losing their memories, going insane."_**

He grinned further, psychotically. **_"Take it as a different way of saying that you are doomed."_**

There was a small, deeply hurt headshake and a step back in response to his manic smile, eyes filled with boundless distress and horror. "You can't do that…"

There was the tiniest of hints of aggression and hateful disbelief in that single, quiet sentence, but it was still soaked in treacherous laàment that further showed Dream was no longer in any position to stand up for what he believed in. It destroyed him inside, to feel– to _be_ so powerless and insignificant when everyone needed him the most.

Everyone had already suffered enough… The thought of them defenseless, having their hopes ripped straight off, never able to be happy again… it was _horrific_ … and it would happen because of _him_ …

A chuckle, dark, heartless, malevolent. _**"Let's see what I can and can't do."**_

Dream rolled out of the way in sheer terror when a flash of black threatened to ensnare him, and was running away, shielded by the smoke, before he could even tell.

Everything just kept getting worse.

If he was caught, it would be the end.

He could see nothing but flames and smoke around him, and the colorless earth beneath him. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know where the others were. He couldn't see Nightmare either, and that wasn't precisely good news for him.

He looked all around, entirely watchful of every single movement around him. The tension was overwhelming; he couldn't see Nightmare, but that didn't mean he couldn't see him. He had to find a way, a path, anything before he lost his slim chance. He needed to get away from the fire.

He did a double take as he saw something that wasn't quite right amongst the reddish tones that surrounded him; a small opening between the dangerous smoke, revealing flashing lights in the blurred distance, and Dream hadn't realized his eyes widened as if he were staring at a miracle.

It had to be them. That _had_ to be them. Dream couldn't afford to ponder if his actions would be correct – it was all go, go, _go_ ; no more options were allowed. Do or die.

Coughing, he tried to run towards the lights, but he only managed to see a flash of black coming from his right before he was forcibly struck back with a brief, stifled shriek of pain, fear, worry, distress; the twinge that shot through his spine as he harshly hit the ground was excruciating, but that was a minor concern when he tried to stand up only to be violently pinned back down by a foot of endless black.

He gasped weakly when he felt his weak ribs bending, only to cough as he inhaled the endless smoke clouding too close to them; Nightmare seemed unfazed by it though, the psychopathic grin endless.

**_"Heh heh heh... Just where do you think you're going?"_ **

Dream couldn't keep his eyes open for more than three seconds, trying to get through the pain and daze. He didn't try to get up; he knew he wouldn't be able to and would only make things worse, and took a few slow, shallow breaths in before bringing himself to speak instead, "W… why…"

The grin of taunting white loosened on the slightest, lightly intrigued.

"T-there's… hardly… anyone left… If-" Dream coughed again, his leftover strength failing him. "If it's power what you want… t-this won't change anything…"

Nightmare regarded his pained, sorrowed glance for a moment before slowly breaking into a malevolent, threatening fit of mirth. **_"Please. I'm doing you all a huge favor."_**

He laughed quietly when he knew he had his brother's weak yet full attention. **_"Picture it in your mind. Everything is lost at this point; everyone is afraid and confused. All they have left is an empty timeline with nothing but their crying selves. The multiverse is unprotected and collapsing, and there's nobody left to bring it back. Face the truth; no one is ever going to get through this, Dream. You, especially, will not."_**

He relished the face of relentless pain, both mental and physical, he was answered with, the unbridled helplessness drenching those hopeless pupils of gold, the faint twinkling of hidden tears threatening to escape in the form of mourning waterfalls.

Nightmare just kept grinning.

He knew he had won.

**_"Nobody has a reason to be happy anymore. And much less once I'm done with them... Besides, this is not about the multiverse entirely. This is for my own sake."_ **

"You won't... w-win that easily."

Nightmare grinned like a maniac, and Dream found himself screaming when the pressure threatening to crush his ribcage suddenly increased for an agonizing moment that felt like an eternity. The darker skeleton laughed at the sound of cracking bones and pained shrieks that soon faded into choked gasps, remorse nonexistent in the psychotic traits.

 ** _"Oh, will I not?"_** Nightmare jeered, head tilted in an ominous way. His lone pupil seemed to contract ever so slightly, enough to make him look like a devil; the fire behind him and the purple sky looming above didn't help at making him any less terrifying and sinister. **_"And why is that? More empty words to fill your defeat with? More false hopes to keep yourself going? Or is it because you still feel bad for this bunch of miserable weaklings? Ha… you really shouldn't."_**

Dream couldn't answer, or even open his tightly shut eyes as he tried to get through the insufferable pain. He was shaking, his chest feeling like fire whenever he tried to breathe, but one of his eyes did manage to flutter partly open to look into an ominous eye.

 ** _"N_** ** _̛_** ** _eith_** ** _͢_** ** _e_** ** _ŗ_** ** _you_** ** _͏_** **_̨_** ** _nor any_** ** _͘_** ** _b_** ** _ò_** ** _d_** ** _̴_** ** _y el_** ** _͢_** ** _se_** ** _͡_** ** _wil_** ** _̢_** ** _l_** ** _͠_** ** _be_** ** _̢_** **_̡_** ** _abl_** ** _͞_** ** _e t_** ** _ǫ_** **_͏_** ** _c_** ** _à_** ** _re."_**

It was then when he saw that expression of unbridled terror take over everything else the two eyes of sorrowed gold could be able to show, laughing like a madman as despaired and breathless no's escaped from Dream in uncontrollable fright.

All he could think of was that he was powerless to stop the disaster.

The weight gradually breaking his ribs kept increasing, slowly but surely, and the wind was knocked out of him as he heard his bones cracking further under the pressure. He couldn't even muster up enough strength to let the pain manifest in the form of a scream, only give a stifled yelp.

**_"Aww, what's with the gloomy face? You should be thanking me for saving you the "pain" of standing and staring as everyone loses their will to live."_ **

He chuckled coldly.

Fluttering eyes slowly opened, though Dream was still falling into unconsciousness; all the damage, both physical and emotional, the fights had drawn upon him and everyone else was truly starting to kick in, and simply being that close to Nightmare took his dwindling strength away from him.

He couldn't defend himself, he couldn't struggle, he couldn't breathe. All he could do was wait. Watch as his own brother stole his reason to live. He let his head fall, barely taking shallow breaths every once in a while, fighting to keep his eyes open.

The flashing lights in the distance seemed to get closer… Were those silhouettes slowly approaching, or was he simply starting to see things?

Silhouettes… everyone…

…

He couldn't.

He _couldn't give up._

He had already let Ink down – he was going to die because of him, his thoughtless choices. He couldn't afford to do nothing and have everyone fall into darkness, be deprived from hoping. He couldn't let the world be consumed by the same hatred that had transformed his brother into the heartless monster he was never meant to be.

The multiverse, what was left of it, was counting on him.

And he wasn't going to let anyone else down. He couldn't allow that. Not while he had any strength left.

"I'm... I'm not..." he weakly began, eyes remaining closed as countless reasons to keep him going suddenly began to crowd around him like stars in a lightless night. He felt… _determined._ "I won't give up…"

The mocking smile faded into a disappointed, angered frown, and Nightmare never noticed the shine taking over the downed skeleton's hands. The small breaths increased, and a flaming glare of gold turned to stare into the pitiless eye without fear.

"This doesn't end here!"

The melting skeleton was completely taken aback by the sudden flash of horrid light as a projectile he hadn't had time to see coming clashed against his chest, all too close to his head; everything suddenly became white.

_White._

A gurgling shriek came out of the melting skeleton as he stepped back, covering his eye and inadvertently letting his brother free, unable to care about anything but his valuable sight as everything lost focus.

Dream wheezed as he instinctively rolled himself away only to be paralyzed by a wave of unbridled agony as he tried to stand up; he still brought himself to scramble away from his irate sibling until he was at a safe enough distance. His chest burned and breathing was impossible, but he knew he had to get away from there as soon as possible.

He still had a chance. Slim, but it was a chance nevertheless.

He feebly staggered up, nearly losing his balance; he was so lightheaded that he felt like he would faint at any moment without even realizing, but he fought against how debilitated he was and turned to look at his brother with eyes of sanguine courage. Though faint, a golden haze illuminated his pupils.

Nightmare slowly moved his head to stare at him with what was perhaps the most hateful glare he had ever given anyone; his chest seemed to be bubbling for a second when he moved his hand off it, growling.

 ** _"I was going to end this here... But y_** ** _͢_** ** _ou'_** ** _̧_** ** _r_** ** _̵_** ** _e_** ** _̴_** **_͝_** ** _just_** ** _̢_** **_̴_** ** _a_** ** _̧_** ** _s_** ** _͜_** ** _ki_** ** _̷_** ** _ng_** ** _̨_** ** _f_** ** _ó_** ** _r_** ** _͢_** ** _more pain_** ** _…_** ** _T_** ** _̕_** ** _his_** ** _̷_** ** _i_** ** _͠_** ** _s_** ** _̨_** ** _t_** ** _̷_** ** _he_** ** _̢_** **_́la_** ** _̵_** ** _s_** ** _̶_** ** _t t_** ** _̶_** ** _im_** ** _̢_** ** _e_** ** _͏_** ** _yo_** ** _͝_** ** _ù_** **_̷_** ** _pl_** ** _̷_** ** _a_** ** _͏_** ** _y_** ** _̕_** **_͘_** ** _t_** ** _̢_** ** _h_** ** _͘_** ** _eh_** ** _͞_** ** _ero."_** ** _̵_**

Dream took a single step back, but he didn't try to run away. Not anymore. If running was useless, then he would fight until the end. He knew what he was fighting for. He knew why he was taking that risk.

And both siblings readied to strike…

_"NOW!"_

Before any of the two made the first move, the voice of a heavily distraught Papyrus ceased any and all intent to fight they had and prickled at their inner curiosity enough to make them look towards the source of the shouting.

Endless lights flashed right in front of the melting skeleton; weapons that were only lethal to the dark being that had been able to ridicule their full power. All three skeletons flashed their respective blasters nonstop as Toriel joined in with her own, harmless yet bright enough bursts of flames. Tireless, they kept summoning blaster after blaster, driven by hatred.

The caped skeleton could only stare in disbelief, breathing heavily as he slowly moved himself away; his leg and ribcage stung like venom, but they didn't ache any more than his hypothetical heart as he took note of everything that had just happened, and he stood motionless, watching.

Dream caught blurred figures through the corner of his eye; he did a double take as he recognized Core and Ink in the distance, blurred by the heat waves, the two remaining humans shaking their heads, waving their hands, yelling something he couldn't hear with clarity through the curtain of fear and disbelief that shut his senses.

_Run._

**_"Stop... S_** ** _͏_** ** _́TO_** ** _̧_** ** _P_** ** _̡_** **_̢͘_** ** _I_** ** _̧͜͜_** ** _T!"́_** the tar monster snarled furiously, voice breaking into a horrifying garble, tentacles swiping wildly in attempts to hit targets he could no longer see. Dream was forced to rush out of the way before he was crushed by a deadly swing turning the grass he sat on into a muddy trench, and he knew he could do nothing else but go back with Ink.

He completely ignored the sharp stings of his femur, the terrible ache in his broken ribcage; certainly, the damaged bones were the last of his concerns, the littlest pain he bore.

 ** _"_** ** _̷_** ** _Yo_** ** _̛_** ** _ú_** ** _idi_** ** _̷_** ** _ot_** ** _͜_** ** _i_** ** _͟_** ** _c f_** ** _͡_** ** _o_** ** _̛_** ** _o_** ** _̡_** ** _l_** ** _̕_** ** _s!_** ** _̛_** ** _"̀_** Nightmare shrieked; he could see nothing but white, damned white, and everything seemed to spin around as he tried to go back to reality. **_"St_** ** _̧_** ** _op_** ** _͏_** **_̕_** ** _í_** ** _t_** **_R_** ** _͠_** ** _I_** ** _̵̢͡_** ** _G_** ** _͠_** ** _H_** ** _̷_** ** _T_** ** _̡_** ** _́_** ** _͢_** **_͡_** ** _NO_** ** _͘_** ** _W_** ** _̡͢_** ** _!́"_** ** _̛͟͡_**

"watch it!" Papyrus hurriedly warned, only stopping his bright onslaught of magic to roll out of the way along with a startled Toriel as one of the appendages came too close to practically shattering his entire body on impact.

Nightmare's blind attacks went through thin air, earth, flames, but not the bold attackers, and his rage only built up when he didn't hear the satisfying sound of broken bones – the closest he had was the loud, wooden shattering as one of the doors, to Outershift, flew into sparkling pieces when it was brutally struck.

Core startled when Ink briefly convulsed in sudden agony, a choked yelp forced out of him as the unbearable pain of another lost universe hit him with the strength of a boulder. The colorless human instinctively placed their hands on his tense arm, uselessly trying to appease his pain as they looked at the battle ahead.

The glitter of another decimated universe sparkled and disappeared into the fire.

_"The universes... Get him away from the doors!"_

Chara glanced over their shoulder as they listened to the deeply concerned plea of the monochromatic child before turning back to the others, exasperatedly shouting, "Papyrus! You have to move away from the doors!"

Said skeleton had an attentive eye planted on the hooded human as he slowly backed away, analyzing the hazardous situation whilst he put a small rest to the heavy usage of magic. They were certainly surrounded by doors there; to get away from them without harming a single one was much easier said than done, especially with a crazed maniac trying to obliterate their lives. Fortunately, the fire seemed to do nothing to them.

The plan was to either force Nightmare to back off with the flashes, or stop and have him chase them down far enough from those timelines. Both of the so-called solutions were dangerous in every possible way, but at that point, nothing was safe; 'safe' was nothing but an empty word that simply existed amidst the chaos.

"got any ideas?" Geno launched a tense, general question as he kept a keen eye trained on the erratic attacks that did nothing but further destroy the devastated space around them, his own attacks losing their fierceness as he prepared for any sort of retreat or change in pattern.

Papyrus took a shallow breath of concern in before uncertainly saying, "leading him away with the lights would be safer than anything else we can do, but it doesn't really look like this guy is gonna back off anytime soon."

"Eh, that's a problem because?" Fresh cheerfully commented, three undersized Gaster Blasters, two of which he smugly spun around in midair like toys, readying to fire above him as he laughed with a little more enthusiasm than even someone like him should have. "C'mon, broski! Something interesting's happening for _once_! Don't be a totally un-rad party pooper and enjoy the wiggity-madness!"

Papyrus didn't know why the blaster he fired beside him as he glared at the cackling excuse of a skeleton didn't change direction to aim at his laughable face.

Core was more than startled when they briefly looked up only to notice that Error was no longer standing there. They allowed themselves to look around, but the glitched skeleton was completely out of sight.

In a way, it relieved them, but it terrified them as well. It probably was more than a fact that he had gone off to fight Nightmare, taking advantage of the open chance he had, and wouldn't mean any harm to Ink and the two other humans that stood beside them, but then again, he could be lurking around them, waiting.

It was a sly, vengeful monster they were talking about.

"Core…"

They hurriedly looked over their shoulder along with Frisk and Chara to melt in distress at the sight of Dream weakly wobbling towards them, out of breath and wincing each time his right foot touched the ground. Feebly, he fell to his knees a few inches away from the rest, panting; his arms trembled like twigs.

The two humans rushed to his side; Ink tried to stand up, but suddenly regretted everything when he caused the searing pain to come back. His spine stung, like it had been stabbed through again. It had only been luck that it hadn't been severed, but he was most definitely not getting back up anytime soon.

"No, n-no, it's okay, I-I'm okay..." he heard Dream's deeply sorrowed and worryingly pained voice try to uselessly appease the humans' concern for his wellbeing, but it didn't help when it came to making Ink feel any less afraid.

Something was terribly wrong.

He allowed himself to take a few, reassuring intakes of air before opening a distraught eye. He couldn't get rid of the blur, but he didn't need clarity to see that Dream was badly wounded; said skeleton had managed to stand up, Chara and Frisk by his side as he took a moment to walk forward. Making sure he wouldn't hurt himself, he kneeled by the creator's side.

Dream didn't answer straight away. He let his concerned pupils glance elsewhere before closing his eyes with a deep breath, "My brother."

It was painful to think about it. To remember the gentle soul Nightmare had once been, only to realize that the melting skeleton he called his brother was the same monster who wouldn't hesitate to torture him until his voice drowned out screaming and begging for the mercy the other was devoid of.

And it hurt to let Ink know that everything was just getting worse each second that ticked by, but he did not need any more lies.

The wounded skeleton replied with thoughtful silence. Just like Dream had done everything he could to empathize with him, he was then the one to wonder and ponder about how minuscule and useless Dream had to be feeling.

All because of his stupidity...

"But it- it doesn't matter... What matters is that you'll be fine."

Ink whispered a disbelieved chuckle, trying his best not to let the tears show. "We both know I'm done for..."

"M-maybe... but..." It seemed like fighting tears off wasn't all that easy for Dream, and Ink melted at seeing him so... not him. It was like looking at himself in a mirror, and he had never expected it to hurt like the touch of a vivid flame. "I know you don't want to give up... S-so please... hold on..."

And no, he didn't want to give up. He wasn't willing to. He couldn't lose everything he had fought for without having the last laugh. His body was at the breaking point, but his distraught mind and his spirit were far from done. Ink managed to muster a small, reassuring smile, but it didn't last long before yet another wave of agony struck him. He still deterred the screams, and only clutched his chest in pain.

Another one gone.

All three humans immediately had their gazes planted on the ongoing fight, though Dream wasn't able to keep his sight off a notable pained Ink for too long. He couldn't bear to see him suffer, much less when his life was pending by a thread. If time didn't take him, then two or three more destroyed universes would surely do the trick. Dream didn't want Ink to die in pain if he could do something about it.

He didn't deserve any of that.

Papyrus growled audibly as another door was torn to shreds. Despite the never ending flashes and erratic blasts, Nightmare seemed to outright refuse to back down, and his attacks were gaining accuracy. None of the four knew how long they'd be able to keep going before they were fully targeted.

 ** _"Fools..."_** Nightmare snarled, a half open yet keen and calculating eye fixed on the group. Despite the chaos, the fire was starting to wear out, giving the others less chances to use it as a shield and breaking the confined space. **_"Keep wasting your magic. Keep trying to stop me. K_** ** _̡_** ** _ee_** ** _͝_** ** _p_** ** _̧_** ** _f_** ** _̶_** ** _iǵht_** ** _͟_** ** _ing f_** ** _̧_** ** _or yo_** ** _̡_** ** _ur_** ** _̢_** ** _p_** ** _̢_** ** _a_** ** _̢_** ** _th_** ** _͡_** ** _eti_** ** _͝_** ** _c lìv_** ** _̡_** ** _e_** ** _̴_** ** _s!_** ** _͘_** ** _"_** ** _̕_**

All four, melting appendages shot out towards them like grappling hooks as Nightmare bellowed in utter, mocking rage. Papyrus, Fresh and Toriel were able to dodge the lethal attack, though Geno hadn't had time to react as fast; the only reason his ribs hadn't been straight up shattered was because of the blaster he had summoned beside him, taking the hit first and softening the impact against the skeleton as it burst into broken pieces of magic.

He got up fast and confidently enough not to raise anyone's worry.

"this is getting out of hand." Papyrus quietly commented, backing up. They were letting their foe recover by ceasing their onslaught of light, but they were exhausted. The mere thought of using magic was a pain, and it seemed like it really wasn't taking the desired effect. It wasn't to be hurting Nightmare enough to make him retreat.

"We will not hold out for much longer," the goat monster warned between shaky breaths, fiery eyes trained on the pitch black skeleton as he slowly moved his gaze towards them. They could see the white shape of a merciless grin. The dark skeleton chuckled, head tilted to the side. Just a few seconds after the magic that was managing to actually hurt him stopped, he was already able to walk it off like nothing.

They were running out of ideas.

**_"Tired already?"_ **

Though, as all four waited for new signs of hostility to lash out again, Papyrus dared to lose his focus on Nightmare and risked a glance at the other two skeletons. No glowing eyes or signs of their magic being used... so who did the Gaster Blaster behind Nightmare belong to?

He wasn't able to recognize its black coloration through the smoke, but he did take notice of the two red eyes of mismatched pupils. Oh, he knew those all too well.

**"'scuse me."**

Nightmare turned around at the audacity of a deadpan voice he recognized well behind him, staring straight into a grinning jaw and a widely smiling skeleton below it.

 **"you may be forgetting so** **́** **m** **̵** **eo** **͟** **ne,"**

Error pulled off the same trick the other three skeletons had practically overused; only, the implosion of his blaster was way, way brighter and prolonged, enough to even make the others hurriedly cover their own orbits as they profusely ached at a glow that could very well belong to a spotlight focused straight into their eyes.

The blue orb contracted to the size of a pinprick as a ball of white erupted right in front of the melting skeleton whose body seemed to deform itself as he ominously howled in pain and rage. Error grinned psychotically, and from the distance, the four dazzled monsters could see the demented expression he bore.

It was what true insanity looked like. That skeleton wasn't on his right mind anymore; the little common sense he retained forever gone.

His mind was as blurred as his damaged vision, but Nightmare still focused into his own Gaster Blaster and let it fire hectically through the curtain of light that still blocked his eyesight. He knew he oversaw a dark figure dash past him, and instinctively followed it through a narrowed eye.

**"whoops, missed me."**

He managed to see, not one, but two charging blasters aimed in his direction, and the glitch let out a broken laugh that could belong to a mad scientist.

If it weren't for the ridiculous pain it inflicted him, Nightmare would have gladly let Error and every other stupid little critter hopelessly believed their trick was working. They thought they could kill him with the light... what a joke. That didn't make it any less horrid for him, though, and he let his rage easily show in the shape of a growl as he swoop at the charging blasters that he was most definitely not willing to deal with.

As both skulls were decimated into glitched splinters, his own, hazy Gaster Blaster emerged from the shadows and shot as soon as it appeared, leaving Error little time to react adequately, yet enough.

He did have in mind the presence of certain abominations behind him, and decided to dive out of the way instead of blocking the incoming burst of pure darkness in hopes of deflecting it and sending it back to the tar-shrouded monster; tempting choice, but risky.

The quartet had even less chances of getting out of the way than he did, caught completely off-guard, and Papyrus grunted when the lethal beam hissed past his newly charred sweater. The explosion right behind where they had been standing a moment ago wasn't far from violently knocking them off their feet.

The dissonant chuckle made the tall skeleton want to blast that broken maniac to hell.

 **"aw, m** **͡** **y** **̨** **̵** **b** **͞** **a** **͘** **d,"** Error brokenly taunted, though his visibly contracted pupils made it hard to see his expression as sickly sweet as it was meant to be and made it straight up terrifying; he was completely crazy, most likely not even thinking rationally anymore.

He was taking it all as a joke, and Nightmare didn't seem pleased by his nonchalant attitude while having the idiotic courage to fight someone he couldn't win against.

"stay back," Papyrus slowly said after an exasperated sigh, his voice eerily low. Even Fresh gave him an odd look in response to his sudden seriousness. "this isn't going anywhere. if the crazy bastard wants to fight that thing, then let him. we're not gonna risk anything else."

Albeit slightly reluctantly, they backed away, letting the crazed skeleton stand in death's way without sympathy as they retreated back with the others.

"What is that idiot _doing_?" Chara stressed, watching along with everyone else as Error laughed like a maniac while dodging endless blasts, barely missing a deadly grasp over and over again and attacking restlessly, falsely believing he would win. He even had the mad courage to mock Nightmare.

"tsh, let him be." Geno deadpanned, crossing his arms as Papyrus walked over to Ink behind him, worry written in every inch of his face as he crouched beside the two wounded skeletons.

"getting any better?" he softly asked, though he knew their time was all too limited. Still, any little hope meant the world to him and everyone else.

Dream sighed heavily before responding; he seemed submerged in thought, and Papyrus could have sworn he had never even imagined he would see him so devastated. His traits, those once hopeful eyes, radiated pain and distress. "It's all fine as long as Ink can still hold on…"

Said skeleton tried, slowly, to at least push himself up, but his arm was again broken and the other one felt like a mere stick; he didn't fall back down however, and clenched his eyes shut as he tried to sink the pain in and get used to it. He was going to fight until the end. He wouldn't let Error watch him helplessly die.

That was, if Error didn't die first.

An alarmingly loud explosion was enough to warn everyone of the fight's minimal distance from them. The thunderous blast seemed to have come from a shrouded blaster that had narrowly missed Error; the glitched skeleton seemed off balance as he slid back.

He was still grinning as he panted, though Nightmare didn't seem impressed by his endurance and perseverance; no one had to squint to see how infuriated he was, but he didn't attack again.

He remained observant as his demented opponent awaited his next move, though beneath all that psychopathy he seemed to realize that something wasn't right. Behind Error, Nightmare kept an attentive glare on the tense monsters who seemed at the ready to deflect any sudden attack, and he let the vexed frown shape into a small grin.

It wasn't worth it. Yet.

He was doing nothing but wasting his time. With so little to choose from, he wanted the moment to be perfect. He wanted to see the looks of helpless horror on their faces when they would meet their demise. He wanted to deal with Dream on his own. He wanted Error gone.

It felt rushed. It felt wrong.

Too soon. Taking on everyone at the same time wasn't fun. He had to take little steps; he wanted the moment he became a literal god to last for as long as possible, and blindly trying to fight so many scrawny little imps wouldn't do the trick. Besides, they would ruin Dream's downfall, and that was not something Nightmare would tolerate.

He had done enough. He knew who was left in the multiverse. He knew where the pitiful survivors where. He knew Error would soon be one less obstacle, and he knew that Dream wouldn't last another encounter; he just needed everyone else out of his way and he would be a goner.

It was already looking perfect.

He was no longer in a fighting stance, and something seemed to let everyone know that the chaotic fight had finally ended. **_"Heh. You can calm_ down,"** Nightmare grinned further at the perplexed glances. **_"I know what I wanted to know. And I believe I've done about enough for now... So enjoy your break time."_**

There were a few blinks of confusion and disbelief in the background; Error, however, seemed to have been frozen by uncertainty. Nobody let their guard down, though, but it was clear that intrigue and uneasiness powered them. Incredulity and unwanted anticipation clouded Dream's eyes as he stared at his suddenly passive brother like they had never met before.

The brief silence was broken by a dissonant laugh.

**_"what? giving up already? i thought you were the tough guy... guess not, huh?"_ **

Too soon to end him, too. Shame.

Nightmare merely shook his head in disappointment as he paced past the attentive glitch, wanting to have a better look at the perplexed yet hostile monsters. Error's lopsided gaze followed his every move like metal to a magnet. ** _"As we all know, if you play with fire... you burn yourself."_**

He shot Error a menacing glower that caused him to take an unsteady, cautious step back, and smirked at the wanted result before addressing the others. **_"Don't get your hopes up, though. If I were you, I wouldn't find that breaktime_ too _enjoyable."_** He chuckled as he nonchalantly walked past them, no eye ever leaving him as he stopped.

**_"In any case... Have fun while you can."_ **

He looked over his shoulder, glare vague but mostly fixated on Dream.

**_"This is far from over. In fact, this has only begun."_ **

He chuckled ominously, and in the span of a second, a cloud of pure darkness enveloped him and as suddenly as he had appeared, he had disappeared.

Everyone was breathless as they stared at nothing, even a confused yet enraged Error.

"What... why...?" Frisk quietly pondered, Flowey blinking the shock away.

"...I don't get it." Fresh deadpanned, eyebrows furrowed as Chara directed him a sideways frown.

"well, that was... somethin'." Geno mused, before turning to glance at an eerily silent and pensive Dream. Ink had the same worry plastered on his lone pupil as he stared in the same direction the skeleton beside him was so focused on before looking down in thought.

 _"...do you think he will come back?"_ Core risked asking, half not expecting an answer but letting the wonder out anyway. Something in Dream's expression shifted ever so slightly, and he quietly sighed.

"Having in mind how grim things are looking... Most likely,"

And he knew why he was coming back.

 _Who_ he was coming back for.

"at least it's over for now, right?" Papyrus managed the best encouraging smile he could muster, which wasn't much but was definitely appreciated among the distraught group. At least, until a certain voice of undefined pitch broke the small moment of relief.

 **"over?** **ov** **͞** **e** **̶** **r?!** **̀** **"**

A psychotic laugh capable of belonging in the most morbid of horror movies echoed all across the fading timeline, breaking into itself, shifting pitch and speed and causing all eyes to glance at the cackling skeleton, albeit too late.

Whip-like strings crashed against everyone but Core, Ink and Dream, nearly missing Chara, with the strength of a boulder; blinding discharges of electricity burst from the strings as they collided against the frail bodies for half a second, sending the monsters and humans flying. The kickbacks of the shocks were so powerful that even the three bewildered bystanders felt them.

The six crashed against the ground, trying to stand up in alarm only to be promptly pinned down by powerful strings. They struggled against the burning binds, but the more they tried to get away, the more the threads dug into their skin. Their souls were quick to be pulled out and ensnared, forcing them to stand still if they didn't want their lives shattered.

Error kept laughing, twitching, a grin so wide it could zip off his head as he loomed above the bound monsters, two Gaster Blasters materializing beside him, their jaws enveloped by the glow of their charging blasts.

 **"t** **͡** **h** **̷** **is** **̴** **i** **͘** **sn'** **̢** **t** **͘** **o** **̷** **v** **͡** **er unt** **̀** **i** **̢** **l** **͏** **the f** **͞** **i** **͜** **l** **̷** **t** **͞** **h** **͝** **̧** **ha** **̀** **s b** **͠** **e** **͝** **e** **͠** **n** **͏** **c** **͘** **le** **͜** **ansed!"** Error cackled maniacally, the blasters' maws gaping open as they readied to fire.

"No! STOP!" came Dream's despaired plea as he instinctively rushed towards the incoming disaster, not even knowing how he would stop it; Ink tried to stand up and go after him, but he forced his broken arm too much and instantly fell back down with a pained yelp.

Error caught the movement behind him, and one of the blasters turned around and fired in the blink of an eye. It was only luck that the attack had been rushed and with little thought put into it, otherwise Dream would've been decimated. The laser instead exploded against the ground just in front of the distraught skeleton, propelling him back. The pain he already bore made the fall ten times more painful than it should have been, and it took Dream all of his remaining strength to even sit up.

 **"no need to be so impatient,"** the glitch laughed, readying another blaster. **"** **͜** **you** **̴** **'** **̛** **l** **͜** **l** **̧** **jo** **in** **͟** **t** **́** **he** **͠** **m** **͜** **s** **͘** **o** **͢** **on** **̀** **e** **̕** **noug** **̧** **h.** **͜** **"** **̀**

Dream shook his head, only to catch glimpse of the terrified faces of the trapped monsters and humans as death glared at them. Error burst into broken laughter again, but before the caped skeleton could bring himself to stand up and rush in again, something he would have never expected caught the corner of his eye.

A red glow. A fiery red glow, and he was absolutely thunderstruck when he looked to his side only to watch as Ink arduously stood up. His legs shook, he was somewhat arched and had obvious difficulty trying to keep himself up. It was obvious that he was in profuse agony, but he wasn't willing to let it show that easily.

The shape of his single pupil was hidden by the vivid, white glow that emanated from it, and the skeleton breathed heavily as his vials glowed a furious red. Crimson paint floated out of them, creating a single, twirling spiral above the irate creator. Dream and Core took a simultaneous step back, awed and shocked, afraid even, trying to figure out what was happening.

So much hatred, worry, guilt crowding around him, pushing him... He suddenly couldn't feel the pain, all he could feel was guilt. He had started that mess, and he would end it. He wouldn't let Error win, even if it meant he would have to defy death. Those beings, those creators, he could hear them again, feel their passion. Everyone was with him, and he was willing to break the limits one last time.

Ink slowly raised a shivering arm, and the ominous spiral seemed to spin faster.

"That. . .

is. . .

ENOUGH!"

He violently thrust his arm down, pupil flashing, and the spiral melted together into a giant splatter that crashed and slithered across the earth at the speed of light, burning the grass it touched and cracking the ground beneath it. Error only looked over his shoulder when the sound of splitting earth began to rumble too close to him, and his sickening smile began to fade as his pupils contracted.

The blast was going straight for him–

The explosion was powerful, dust and burnt grass flying past everyone; it seemed like a sandstorm had formed out of the blue. The strings holding the monsters disintegrated immediately after the attack found its target, leaving room for them to scoot away and cover their eyes; Frisk wasted no time before running to their hypothetical mother's arms.

When the strong wind was finally appeased, silence took over.

The vials on Ink's sash ceased glowing; they weren't a greyscale, or black – they were _empty_. His pupil faded in and out of existence, and he was seemingly fighting without success to keep his eye open. His legs quivered at each silent, pained intake of air, and he collapsed to the side as soon as he took a single step forth. Dream was quick to catch him in his arms, slowly and carefully kneeling down.

The smoke trail slowly faded away, granting sight of an unmoving Error; clothes ripped and burned, body buzzing furiously, covered in dust.

Papyrus gave the fallen glitch a glare devoid of empathy though filled with shock before shakily bringing himself to his feet; the others seemed to hesitate, bewildered, before taking their time to follow, uncertain about what to do anymore.

As they walked away, Error managed to push himself to his knees. Head hanging and shoulders hunched, he had to use his arms to keep himself from collapsing back down. The furious scowl of closed eyes he bore was showing more signs of vexation than pain, especially when he slowly turned to look at the ferment a few feet away.

They could only expect the worst as they joined the distraught monsters, still shocked as to what had happened. If that burst of power and courage hadn't been pure Determination, then they had no idea what else it could have been. Ink had literally defied death, but it seemed like he had payed the price for it.

Nobody liked the look on Dream's face, the way his pupils suddenly contracted and his expression became one of unbridled horror.

"He's... h-he's not breathing...!"

Frisk hadn't been able to stop themselves from squeaking a muffled, horrified, "What?!" as panic began to take over. Error managing to stagger to his feet in the background was not even a disturbance; he simply didn't exist anymore. It wasn't like he posed a threat though, and everyone's distraction wasn't what he was weakly grinning at.

He had been listening, and he let the pain sink in. What he had been waiting for was finally taking place.

"No... No, no, no, please no!" A waterfall of tears streamed down the caped skeleton's eyes, a wave of grief and guilt breaking him down. "Come on, Ink, please don't- don't give up, no, n-not like this..."

Core stared in shock, an unbridled tear rolling down their cheek; they weren't the only one who melted and nearly burst into an uncontrollable ocean of grieving tears when a hopeless Dream pulled the unresponsive skeleton into an embrace, whimpering, eyes flooded.

There were no signs of Ink turning to dust, fact that barely let the distressed group hold on to the small hope that he had only passed out, but bits of his body were becoming fuzzy as if he could scarcely hold himself together. Black ink was lightly dripping down the crack on his eye. _"Hold on... just a little longer..."_ the monochromatic human whispered a prayer, eye sockets quivering.

A small, golden glimmer caught their attention; a glow that gradually invaded Dream's chest, the closest he had to a soul, and everyone could only hope whatever was happening would stop the unstoppable. It seemed like a barely visible haze was surrounding the creator's limp body-

He suddenly took a choked breath in, coughing afterwards in clear pain and distress. Despite his clear suffering however, the others and especially Dream were overly relieved at seeing him show signs of life again, and he seemed to slowly put himself together until he was more confused and shocked that anything.

"Oh my God..." an allayed Dream ruefully whispered, voice breaking as silent tears continued to stream down his face.

"What... Where... am I...?" Ink feebly inquired. His eyes felt heavy, and he could no longer keep them open for long. His whole body felt heavy as a matter of fact, and everything seemed to spin around. There wasn't a single thing he could see properly; it was all a blur.

"I-it's okay, we're here..." the skeleton holding him muttered, trying to get past the overwhelming shock he had been given; Ink had truly scared him half to death. "And you're here, too... it's f-fine..."

Core made their best attempt not to let more tears show, but it was difficult considering that Ink would soon die regardless of having survived the impossible. His time was severely limited, and everyone knew that.

The last thing they needed, however, was to grieve beforehand. Ink didn't deserve to die surrounded by heartbroken people; he needed those heartbroken people to remind him of the good he had done. And Dream, too, needed hope. Even a tiny speck, it could mean the world to him. He was notably weaker than he had been a second ago, and he was faintly trembling; he had used his last remaining magic to let Ink defy his imminent fate.

"Hey... you didn't have to do that." Dream softly said, and Ink seemed to smile ever so slightly.

"It's... i-it's the least I could do, r-right?"

Error didn't seem pleased on the slightest as he attentively watched, hardly able to stand. He was expecting to see dust, not that virus laughing in the face of death again. And speaking of laughing in the face of someone, Error silently growled when Ink seemingly tried to recognize his battered, glitched traits only to grant him a serious, defiant glare.

Geno was the first to follow his irate silence, Papyrus glancing over soon after. Black eyes became filled with rage and disgust, "don't you think you've done enough?"

The glitch took an indignant breath in, before briefly glancing at the weakened fire. Besides those lucky doors, there was nothing but an endless trail of destruction. The remaining universes were only partially alive, Ink was going to die either way, and he simply wasn't crazy enough to keep going. It seemed like his magic had completely drained.

It was frustrating... but he had lots of time left to mess with the helpless puppets.

 **"don't count on it."** Error had the indecency to give the group a friendly wink, and if it wasn't for the fact that he was exhausted and that someone was about to die, Papyrus would have lashed out at that point. He did put his magic at the ready, though; Error was far more unpredictable than ever.

**"welp... see ya."**

Carelessly, all too carelessly, Error summoned the portal back to the anti-void, though he pondered before stepping through. Even though he wasn't facing the others, his grin was notable.

**"heh... i hope the little virus understands why i have always said he's the most worthless glitch in the entire multiverse."**

He left under several hateful glares, his dissonant chuckle echoing away. They doubted they had ever seen Dream give someone such a monotonous yet irascible glower, but his expression melted when Ink weakly coughed.

"Y... you know... H-he's... h-he's not entirely... wrong..."

Dream narrowed his eyes at that. "Ink, you're not worthless." he firmly stated, finally getting through the tears. The skeleton he held replied with a disbelieved, empty laugh, devoid of any emotion at all.

"You d-don't need to blame yourself... This... this is my f-fault... every s-single thing that's happened... It's... it's all... b-because of me..." He quietly laughed again, sounding more like a snivel; tears threatened to flow. "B-because... I wanted... to protect you all... And now look at what I've d-done..."

He was trying his best not to bawl, but he couldn't stop himself from sobbing quietly and letting his tears run rampant. It didn't take long for Dream's sorrow to come back, but he held the sadness back. Frisk, however, was already fighting their tears off, and everyone else was at the edge of crying. It wasn't easy to stay calm and composed.

 _"That still doesn't mean you wanted this to happen,"_ Core started, trying to sound as reassuring and confident as possible. Ink could only give them a side glance; he lacked the strength to move much more than that. _"Besides... it is true that you are not worthless. Even though not all of your decisions were correct, you still have helped so many people."_

"Yeah... m-me, Tori and Flowey wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." Frisk sobbed, rubbing their tears as their foster mother gave them a reassuring smile.

"and... you saved my bro. that alone literally means the world to me." Papyrus honestly stated, a small smile adorning his traits.

"and you were always nagging me, trying to make me feel better." Geno shrugged with a childish smile, "so pretty much the only reason i haven't gone bonkers is because of you."

 _"And most people housed in the Omega Timeline are there solely because of your intervention."_ Core continued, a lopsided smile taking the place of the full one they couldn't muster.

"Cool story bruh." Fresh deadpanned, shrugging, causing Geno to gladly grant his ribs an annoyed prod with his elbow. The multicolored skeleton wheezed dramatically as the white one smiled in satisfaction while Fresh crumbled like a drama queen behind him. The annoyance was mostly ignored.

"See?" Dream softly said, as Ink seemed to deeply ponder. "You're not worthless. You're not a failure. You're... you. Everyone can make mistakes. Sometimes they're small, sometimes they are... rather unfixable... but that doesn't mean you were willing to cause trouble. The fact that you fought Error head on just to protect everyone out there shows how much you care, and how worthy you are."

Ink remained silent, though he showed a quivering smile after a slow, ailing blink, and sighed as he let his eye close. He was suddenly confused. He didn't know what was right and what was wrong anymore... He didn't know if he had actually done the correct thing or if his mistake had been even worse than he had ever imagined. Or perhaps his influence never had anything to do with the disaster, and it had all been fate. Perhaps the multiverse was meant to collapse at some point, or maybe it wasn't.

It was like discovering the world for the first time, and it was overwhelming.

Ink let his eye slowly flutter open, lost and narrowed. His pupil had changed back to the cyan teardrop that had stuck with him for so long, but he wasn't feeling such profuse sadness, yet he wasn't happy either. He was confused and afflicted, pondering about the world itself, nothing more than that. He knew that was the last time he would see... anything.

"It's... strange, isn't it...?" the creator muttered, pensively; he was mostly talking to himself, but that didn't stop his weak words from taking everyone's attention. "Something... s-so big and crowded can... can just d-disappear because... b-because of one person..."

"Well... we're still here, aren't we?" Dream tried to reassure him, though he was too doubtful. He tried to hide his hesitation, but so much hopelessness and despair was really messing with him. "And... I really don't think Error is coming back after this, at least not anytime soon. Most of us are still alive, and we can help them - especially because of you. That's... t-that's something, right?"

He did nothing about the single tear that fell down his cheekbone. Keeping it all in was only making him dizzy, and he was too weak to risk anything.

Ink seemed to need a couple of intakes of air to continue speaking. Not even himself knew where he was getting the strength to hold on from. Perhaps it was from Dream, perhaps it was from everyone's encouragement, but either way, that strength was fading. Parts of his body were still fuzzy, and his eye felt too heavy.

"R-right now... i-it's not Error I'm worried about..." He winced as a sudden, brief twinge shot all the way through him. "It's... it's you I'm worried about now... a-all of you..."

Certainly, Nightmare was more of a reason for concern than Error would ever wish to be. Ink didn't want to go knowing everyone was in grave danger, especially Dream... but he no longer had a choice. He had done everything he could and more, and pushing the limits was impossible.

"That doesn't matter now." Dream said lowly, rushed seriousness trying to prevent his voice from shaking. "We are all fine. We can work something out. We will get through this, okay? The last thing I want is to let you go worried and afraid after everything you've been through."

Ink blinked, slowly. It was tiresome to do it, and his whole body felt worryingly heavy. He didn't want to admit that he only had a few seconds left, though some of the gathered monsters seemed fully aware of his precarious state, especially when his pupils started to fade in and out of existence.

"At least... I-I got to be what I had n-never been, h-huh?" Ink nervously whispered, taking tight hold of his last moments alive. "It's... rather f-funny... I've realized more about m-myself in just a f-f-few minutes than I ever d-did in my entire life..." He managed his best attempt at a chuckle. "I can't say it was b-bad to remember... It's good to h-have felt like... s-someone..."

Dream could pretty much feel the other's life fading away, and he couldn't stop himself from shivering and letting tears fall loose. Chara shrunk as Frisk held tight to their mother's arm, and Papyrus seemed to be trying to force himself to cry; for some reason, he couldn't, and that feeling was painful. If Geno had any lips, he would have been anxiously chewing on them.

He took a shaky breath in, numbness starting to take over him, "And I r-remembered because of y-you... s-so... th... thank... you..."

Ink's voice cracked, shuddered, broke as his eye slowly closed, and Dream panicked inside when his battered body felt limp in his hold. The small silence once Ink went quiet was only broken by the soft hissing of the sparkling dust that began to envelope the fallen creator under many grieving gazes.

Dream was forced to let go when he found himself holding nothing but dust, dust that he grasped in clenched fists as he weeped.

Multicolored sand twirled in the air, blown away by a cold breeze accompanied by the sound of grief. At least, Ink had departed with a smile, and having fulfilled his fight against Error...

* * *

_'Nothing feels right anymore. To be honest, everything has lost its meaning to me. Any other day, I wouldn't have let this happen, but now I just can't keep going. I'm just... there. That's all. A drop of water in the ocean. If I can't bring myself to create, if I'm unable to defend those I love... then there's no place for me here. I just exist. If I knew things would go this badly... Heh, sometimes... sometimes I just wish I hadn't survived..._

_And, Dream, if you happen to read this... I'm sorry. I just can't. Not anymore. I'm sure you could do a better job at protecting the multiverse than I'd ever wish to. I give up.'_

It didn't take long for the page, the only one that hadn't been destroyed, to become stained by a teardrop, then another.

Dream took a shaky breath in as he folded the paper, rubbing his tears off unsuccessfully. He didn't know how long it had been... from hours to days, but he couldn't bring himself to care. The grief, the guilt, it was too much for someone like him to take on. He felt like garbage; he felt empty.

Everyone else had retreated back to the Omega Timeline, but he had refused to leave. The two humans and Papyrus had kept him company for a while before their worry forced them to go back to the only safe place they had left. Their presence had been relieving... but Dream needed a moment alone. A moment to think about it all.

It was hard to believe such chaos had truly taken place there. And if it all wasn't bad enough, Nightmare was back on track and eager to attend some unfinished business. It felt like the apocalypse, and for once, Dream considered his brother's words.

_"Nobody is ever going to get through this."_

_"All they have left is an empty timeline with nothing but their crying selves."_

He wasn't wrong, he wasn't wrong at all... but Dream knew all they needed was time. Not everything had been destroyed, and the survivors had friends and family with them. They simply needed a little push, once the time was right. It would take long, but there was hope, and Dream knew it wasn't a false hope. It was all there was left for him to hold on to.

_"Dream...?"_

Said skeleton looked over his shoulder to glance at the monochromatic human, concern plastered on their face. They had been so worked up when Dream first refused to go to the Omega; he had been expecting them to come back for him, but he wasn't ready yet.

He didn't answer, and sighed heavily as he turned to look at the horizon. The ominous sky was melting into something calmer, almost overcast weather. It wasn't reassuring, but it was always better than a mass of red and purple that threatened to crash down on any bystanders.

 _"I know this is hard for you, but it's dangerous for you to stay here."_ They silently walked next to the thoughtful guardian, sitting down next to him. _"You are exposed to too many hazards, and everyone is really worried about you."_

Dream kept a silent gaze on the endless field for a moment. "I just need some time alone... I'll be there, just... I really need to think this through."

_"Dream, please... everything depends on you now more than ever. If either Error or Nightmare come back here... you may not live to tell the tale. Besides... this timeline is too unstable now. It is possible that you may be stuck here forever if you don't take precautions. Please... I will respect your choice, but we want you to be safe."_

The caped skeleton stood thoughtful again, and the sorrowed human awaited his answer. They slowly stood up and took a small step back, slightly looking hopeful, when Dream got to his feet with a sigh, but he didn't move until a few seconds tediously ticked by.

"Don't try to convince me otherwise."

He turned away from Core, walking towards wherever his grief took him. The human did not go after him, or try to stop him, and merely retreated, but not before giving Dream one last glance.

The dust of the fallen creator sparkled in the waving cape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HONESTY TIME! I got emotional while writing this, especially because I was listening to a playlist and "See You Again" and "River Flows in You" started playing while I worked on that last part :'(
> 
> Again, sorry if anything felt rushed, losing this so many times really messed with me D: But I still hope it was acceptable for a last chapter ^-^
> 
> ALSO!
> 
> This is technically not over, as this became a two-part AU; which means we'll have a canon sequel! Of course, instead of our artsy cinnamon roll, we'll follow the other cinnamon roll whom we shall call Nega!Dream.
> 
> Should I write kind of an epilogue for this, to tease a bit at the sequel, or should I leave it in suspense? ;)


End file.
